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Compare Svalbard (2004) - Lesotho (2002)

Compare Svalbard (2004) z Lesotho (2002)

 Svalbard (2004)Lesotho (2002)
 SvalbardLesotho
Administrative divisions - 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Age structure 0-14 years: NA


15-64 years: NA


65 years and over: NA
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)


15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538)


65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products - corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock
Airports 4 (2003 est.) 28 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
total: 4


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 2


under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
Area total: 62,049 sq km


land: 62,049 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island)
total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than West Virginia slightly smaller than Maryland
Background First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule.
Birth rate NA births/1,000 population 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $11.5 million


expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 est.)
revenues: $76 million


expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
Capital Longyearbyen Maseru
Climate arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers
Coastline 3,587 km 0 km (landlocked)
Constitution - 2 April 1993
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen)
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
Currency Norwegian krone (NOK) loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR)
Death rate NA deaths/1,000 population 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external - $715 million (2001 est.)
Dependency status territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway -
Diplomatic representation from the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS


embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)


mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho


telephone: [266] 312666


FAX: [266] 310116
Diplomatic representation in the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO


chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536


FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
Disputes - international despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone none
Economic aid - recipient $8.2 million from Norway (1998) $123.7 million (1995) (1995)
Economy - overview Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions.
Electricity - consumption NA kWh 100 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports - 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports - 100 million kWh


note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)
Electricity - production NA kWh 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
Environment - current issues NA population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa
Environment - international agreements - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Ethnic groups Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,
Exchange rates Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999) maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti
Executive branch chief of state: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)


head of government: Governor Odd Olsen INGERO (since 8 June 2001) and Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since NA)


elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice
chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile


head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)


cabinet: Cabinet


elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch
Exports NA $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities - manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals
Exports - partners - South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999)
Fiscal year - 1 April - 31 March
Flag description the flag of Norway is used divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner
GDP purchasing power parity - NA purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector - agriculture: 18%


industry: 38%


services: 44% (2001)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - NA purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate NA 2.6% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 78 00 N, 20 00 E 29 30 S, 28 30 E
Geography - note northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level
Highways total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
total: 4,955 km


paved: 887 km


unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 1%


highest 10%: 43% (1986-87)
Imports NA $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities - food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products
Imports - partners - South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999)
Independence none (territory of Norway) 4 October 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate NA 15.5% (1999 est.)
Industries - food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism
Infant mortality rate total: NA


male: NA


female: NA
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA 6.9% (2001 est.)
International organization participation none ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 1 (2000)
Irrigated land NA sq km 10 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch - High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court
Labor force NA 700,000 economically active
Labor force - by occupation - 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa
Land boundaries 0 km total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 km
Land use arable land: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2001)
arable land: 10.71%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
Languages Norwegian, Russian Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Legal system NA based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch - bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election


elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18
Life expectancy at birth total population: NA years


male: NA years


female: NA years
total population: 47 years


male: 46.3 years


female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
Literacy NA definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 83%


male: 72%


female: 93% (1999 est.)
Location Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa
Map references Arctic Region Africa
Maritime claims territorial sea: 4 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia
none (landlocked)
Merchant marine none -
Military - note demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs.
Military branches - Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $34 million (1999)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - NA%
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.)
National holiday NA Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Nationality - noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
Natural hazards ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic periodic droughts
Natural resources coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals
Net migration rate NA migrant(s)/1,000 population -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Political parties and leaders - Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE]
Political pressure groups and leaders - NA
Population 2,756 (July 2004 est.) 2,207,954


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA 49% (1999 est.)
Population growth rate -0.02% (2004 est.) 1.33% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden none
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios - NA (2002)
Railways - total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa


narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)
Religions - Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%
Sex ratio NA at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: probably adequate


domestic: local telephone service


international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only)
general assessment: rudimentary system


domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use NA 22,200 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 21,600 (2000)
Television broadcast stations NA 1 (2000)
Terrain wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
Total fertility rate NA children born/woman 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate - 45% (2000 est.)
Waterways - none
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