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Compare West Bank (2004) - Lesotho (2005)
Compare West Bank (2004) z Lesotho (2005)
| West Bank (2004) | Lesotho (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | - | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.8% (male 518,470; female 493,531)
15-64 years: 52.8% (male 623,785; female 595,376) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 34,226; female 45,816) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.9% (male 346,930/female 342,459)
15-64 years: 57.6% (male 526,642/female 548,096) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 42,003/female 60,905) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
| Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 28 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank that began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 could bring a turning point in the conflict. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002. |
| Birth rate | 33.21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 26.53 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $676.6 million
expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.) |
revenues: $698.5 million
expenditures: $697.6 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (2004 est.) |
| Capital | - | Maseru |
| Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | - | 2 April 1993 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
| Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | - |
| Death rate | 4.07 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 25.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $735 million (2002) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 22 312666 FAX: [266] 22 310116 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
| Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA $4.4 million |
| Economic aid - recipient | $2 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2001-02 est.) | $41.5 million (2000) |
| Economy - overview | Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by about one-third between 1992 and 1996 due to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment, which in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Israel's use of comprehensive closures during the next three years decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year-long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and severely disrupted trade and labor movements. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant and administrative structure, widespread business closures, and a sharp drop in GDP. Including Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel, in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. In addition, about 80,000 Palestinian workers inside the Territories are losing their jobs. International aid of $2 billion in 2001-02 to the West Bank and Gaza Strip prevented the complete collapse of the economy. In 2004, on-going border issues and the death of Yasser ARAFAT continued to complicate the economic situation. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue, but the government has strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The garment industry has grown significantly, mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF. |
| Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 308 million kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 16 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002) |
| Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 314 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
| Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
| Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | maloti per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) |
| Executive branch | - | 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 | $603 million f.o.b., includes Gaza Strip | NA |
| Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000) |
| Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | US 97%, Canada 2.1%, UK 0.3% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | - | 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 - $1.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 15.2%
industry: 43.9% services: 40.9% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $800 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | -22% (2002 est.) | 3.3% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 244 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts(August 2003 est.) | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
| Highways | total: 4,500 km
paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements (1997 est.) |
total: 5,940 km
paved: 1,087 km unpaved: 4,853 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 0.9%
highest 10%: 43.4% |
| Imports | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes Gaza Strip | NA |
| Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000) |
| Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2000) | Hong Kong 46.8%, China 25.5%, South Korea 5.6%, Germany 4.8% (2004) |
| Independence | - | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA | 15.5% (1999) |
| Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 20.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 84.23 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 89.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (includes Gaza Strip) (2001 est.) | 5.3% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | - | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, The Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | - | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
| Labor force | NA | 838,000 (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13%, industry 21%, services 66% (1996) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
| Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
| Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land: 10.87%
permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2001) |
| Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
| Legal 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 | - | 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 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: 72.88 years
male: 71.14 years female: 74.72 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 34.47 years
male: 35.49 years female: 33.42 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
| Map references | Middle East | Africa |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| 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 | - | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $32.3 million (2004) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2.3% (2004) |
| National holiday | - | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
| Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
| Natural hazards | droughts | periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | arable land | water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone |
| Net migration rate | 2.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | - | Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
| Population | 2,311,204
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
1,867,035
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 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 60% (2003 est.) | 49% (1999) |
| Population growth rate | 3.21% (2004 est.) | 0.08% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 301,600 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2002) | 28,600 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 480,000 (cellular subscribers in both West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2003) | 92,000 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (2000) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
| Total fertility rate | 4.52 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.35 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 50% (includes Gaza Strip) (2002 est.) | 45% (2002) |
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