Togo (2004) | Lesotho (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 regions (regions, singular - region); Kara, Plateaux, Savanes, Centrale, Maritime | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,222,622; female 1,214,443)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 1,455,373; female 1,522,456) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 59,165; female 82,753) (2004 est.) |
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 | coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 9 (2003 est.) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (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: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 56,785 sq km
land: 54,385 sq km water: 2,400 sq km |
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 | French Togoland became Togo in 1960. Gen. Gnassingbe EYADEMA, installed as military ruler in 1967, is Africa's longest-serving head of state. Despite the facade of multiparty elections instituted in the early 1990s, the government continues to be dominated by President EYADEMA, whose Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party has maintained power almost continually since 1967. In addition, Togo has come under fire from international organizations for human rights abuses and is plagued by political unrest. While most bilateral and multilateral aid to Togo remains frozen, the European Union initiated a partial resumption of cooperation and development aid to Togo in late 2004. | 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 | 34.36 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $214.5 million
expenditures: $296.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | Lome | Maseru |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 56 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | multiparty draft constitution approved by High Council of the Republic 1 July 1992; adopted by public referendum 27 September 1992 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Togolese Republic
conventional short form: Togo local long form: Republique Togolaise local short form: none former: French Togoland |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 11.64 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2000) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gregory ENGLE
embassy: Angle Rue Kouenou and Rue 15 Beniglato, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome telephone: [228] 221 29 91 through 221 29 94 FAX: [228] 221 79 52 |
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 Akoussoulelou BODJONA
chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4212 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3190 |
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 | in 2001 Benin claimed Togo moved boundary monuments - joint commission continues to resurvey the boundary | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $80 million (2000 est.) | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Some basic foodstuffs must still be imported. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton generate about 40% of export earnings, with cotton being the most important cash crop. Togo is the world's fourth-largest producer of phosphate, but production fell an estimated 22% in 2002 due to power shortages and the cost of developing new deposits. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has moved slowly. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations, progress toward legislative elections, and continued support from foreign donors. | 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 | 614.5 million kWh (2001) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 520 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by Ghana (2001) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 101.6 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Agou 986 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation attributable to slash-and-burn agriculture and the use of wood for fuel; water pollution presents health hazards and hinders the fishing industry; air pollution increasing in urban areas | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (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: President Faure GNASSINGBE (since 6 February 2005); note - Gnassingbe EYADEMA died on 5 February 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Faure GNASSINGBE, who will be allowed to complete his father's term
head of government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA (since 29 June 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 1 June 2003 (next to be held NA June 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Gnassingbe EYADEMA reelected president; percent of vote - Gnassingbe EYADEMA 57.2%, Emmanuel Akitani BOB 34.1%, Yawovi AGBOYIBO 5.2%, Maurice Dahuku PERE 2.3%, Edem KODJO 1.0% |
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 (2001) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | reexports, cotton, phosphates, coffee, cocoa | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | Burkina Faso 16.6%, Ghana 15.4%, Netherlands 13%, Benin 9.6%, Mali 7.7% (2003) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | 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 - $8.257 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 39.5%
industry: 20.4% services: 40.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2003 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 1 10 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | the country's length allows it to stretch through six distinct geographic regions; climate varies from tropical to savanna | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 7,520 km
paved: 2,376 km unpaved: 5,144 km (1999 est.) |
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) |
Illicit drugs | transit hub for Nigerian heroin and cocaine traffickers; money laundering not a significant problem | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 21.1%, Netherlands 12.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.9%, Germany 4.6%, Italy 4.4%, South Africa 4.3%, China 4.1% (2003) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | 27 April 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 67.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -1% (2003 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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 | 70 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 1.74 million (1996) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 5%, services 30% (1998 est.) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | total: 1,647 km
border countries: Benin 644 km, Burkina Faso 126 km, Ghana 877 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 46.15%
permanent crops: 2.21% other: 51.64% (2001) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | French-based court system | 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 | unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 27 October 2002 (next NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPT 72, RSDD 3, UDPS 2, Juvento 2, MOCEP 1, independents 1 note: two opposition parties boycotted the election, the Union of the Forces for Change, and the Action Committee for Renewal |
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: 53.05 years
male: 51.07 years female: 55.09 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 60.9% male: 75.4% female: 46.9% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 30 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,918 GRT/3,852 DWT
by type: cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | 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 | Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $32.6 million (2003) | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,316,455 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 690,331 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1960) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Togolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Togolese |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Juvento [Monsilia DJATO]; Movement of the Believers of Peace and Equality or MOCEP [leader NA]; Rally for the Support for Development and Democracy or RSDD [Harryy OLYMPIO]; Rally of the Togolese People or RPT [President Gnassingbe EYADEMA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Gagou KOKOU]
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA, was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was legalized 12 April 1991 |
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 | NA |
Population | 5,556,812
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 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 | 32% (1989 est.) | 49% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.27% (2004 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kpeme, Lome | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA (2002) |
Railways | total: 568 km
narrow gauge: 568 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
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 | indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 29%, Muslim 20% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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 | NA years of age; universal adult | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fair system based on a network of microwave radio relay routes supplemented by open-wire lines and a mobile cellular system
domestic: microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system; cellular system has capacity of 10,000 telephones international: country code - 228; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Symphonie |
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 | 60,600 (2003) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 220,000 (2003) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 4.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 50 km (seasonally on Mono River depending on rainfall) (2003) | none |