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Compare Lesotho (2001) - Turkmenistan (2002)

Compare Lesotho (2001) z Turkmenistan (2002)

 Lesotho (2001)Turkmenistan (2002)
 LesothoTurkmenistan
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dasoguz Welayaty, Labap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty


note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Age structure 0-14 years:
39.28% (male 430,147; female 424,994)

15-64 years:
56.03% (male 588,440; female 631,404)

65 years and over:
4.69% (male 43,033; female 59,044) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 37.3% (male 895,536; female 853,301)


15-64 years: 58.6% (male 1,350,142; female 1,399,879)


65 years and over: 4.1% (male 72,784; female 117,321) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock cotton, grain; livestock
Airports 29 (2000 est.) 76 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total:
4

over 3,047 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
1

under 914 m:
2 (2000 est.)
total: 13


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
25

914 to 1,523 m:
4

under 914 m:
21 (2000 est.)
total: 63


2,438 to 3,047 m: 7


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 10


under 914 m: 41 (2002)
Area total:
30,355 sq km

land:
30,355 sq km

water:
0 sq km
total: 488,100 sq km


land: 488,100 sq km


water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland slightly larger than California
Background Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked out.
Birth rate 31.24 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 28.27 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues:
$76 million

expenditures:
$80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million (FY99/00 est.)
revenues: $588.6 million


expenditures: $658.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) (1999 est.)
Capital Maseru Ashgabat
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers subtropical desert
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km)
Constitution 2 April 1993 adopted 18 May 1992
Country name conventional long form:
Kingdom of Lesotho

conventional short form:
Lesotho

former:
Basutoland
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Turkmenistan


local long form: none


local short form: Turkmenistan


former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) Turkmen manat (TMM)
Death rate 15.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 8.92 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $720 million (2000 est.) $2.3 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Katherine H. PETERSON

embassy:
254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)

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

telephone:
[266] 312666

FAX:
[266] 310116
chief of mission: Ambassador Laura E. KENNEDY


embassy: 9 Pushkin Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45


FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO

chancery:
2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

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

FAX:
[1] (202) 234-6815
chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV


chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500


FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697
Disputes - international none Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking of the Aral Sea; multilaterally-accepted Caspian Sea seabed and maritime boundaries have not yet been established in the Caspian - Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan await ICJ decision to resolve sovereignty dispute over oil fields in the Caspian Sea
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) $16 million from the US (2001)
Economy - overview Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, and remittances from miners employed in South Africa. The number of such 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 substantial 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. Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and huge gas (fifth largest reserves in the world) and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it the world's tenth largest producer. Until the end of 1993, Turkmenistan had experienced less economic disruption than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher prices for oil and gas and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. In 1994, Russia's refusal to export Turkmen gas to hard currency markets and mounting debts of its major customers in the former USSR for gas deliveries contributed to a sharp fall in industrial production and caused the budget to shift from a surplus to a slight deficit. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2001, Turkmenistan has suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports have risen sharply because of higher international oil and gas prices. Prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error.
Electricity - consumption 55 million kWh (1999) 7.708 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 900 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 55 million kWh

note:
electricity supplied by South Africa (1999)
0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (1999) 9.256 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
0%

hydro:
0%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point:
junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m

highest point:
Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)


highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m
Environment - current issues 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 contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification
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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, Turkmen 77%, Uzbek 9.2%, Russian 6.7%, Kazakh 2%, other 5.1% (1995)
Exchange rates maloti per US dollar - 7.78307 (January 2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997), 4.29935 (1996); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (January 2002-January 2000), 5,350 (January 1999), 4,070 (January 1997)
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
chief of state: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 by the Assembly (Majlis) during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty)


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held NA); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the Assembly on 28 December 1999); deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president


election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5%
Exports $175 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (1998) gas 33%, oil 30%, cotton fiber 18%, textiles 8% (1999)
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 65%, North America 34% (1998) Ukraine 27%, Iran 14%, Turkey 11%, Italy 9%, Switzerland 5% (1999)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
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 green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.1 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
18%

industry:
38%

services:
44% (1999)
agriculture: 27%


industry: 45%


services: 28% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.5% (2000 est.) 10% (2001 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 40 00 N, 60 00 E
Geography - note landlocked; surrounded by South Africa landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau
Highways total:
4,955 km

paved:
887 km

unpaved:
4,068 km (1996)
total: 22,000 km


paved: 18,000 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)


unpaved: 4,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1996)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
0.9%

highest 10%:
43.4% (1986-87)
lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 32% (1998) (1998)
Illicit drugs - transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; small-scale government-run eradication of illicit crops; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan
Imports $700 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) $2.3 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (1995) machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999)
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 90%, Asia 7% (1998) Turkey 17%, Ukraine 12%, Russia 11%, UAE 8%, France 6% (1999)
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Industrial production growth rate 15.5% (1999 est.) NA%
Industries food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts; construction; tourism natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing
Infant mortality rate 82.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) 73.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6% (2000 est.) 10% (2001 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO AsDB, CCC, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) NA
Irrigated land 30 sq km (1993 est.) 18,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president)
Labor force 700,000 economically active 2.34 million (1996) (1996)
Labor force - by occupation 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.)
Land boundaries total:
909 km

border countries:
South Africa 909 km
total: 3,736 km


border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km
Land use arable land:
11%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
66%

forests and woodland:
0%

other:
23% (1993 est.)
arable land: 3.47%


permanent crops: 0.14%


other: 96.39% (1998 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
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 based on civil law system
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 (80 seats; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 65 to 80 in the May 1998 election; on 28 February 2001, the Senate approved expansion of the Assembly by a further 50 seats in the next election, which may be held as early as January 2002

elections:
last held 23 May 1998 (next to be held NA March 2001)

election results:
percent of vote by party - LCD 60.7%, BNP 24.5%, other 14.8%; seats by party - LCD 79, BNP 1

note:
results contested; opposition parties claimed the election was fraudulent and staged a coup; Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces intervened in September 1998 and restored order; the Interim Political Authority (IPA) was set up in December 1998 to create a new electoral system and conduct new elections.
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (more than 100 seats, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets infrequently) and a unicameral Assembly or Majlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)


elections: People's Council - NA; Assembly - last held 12 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004)


election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - all 50 elected officials preapproved by President NIYAZOV; most are from the DPT
Life expectancy at birth total population:
48.84 years

male:
47.97 years

female:
49.74 years (2001 est.)
total population: 61.1 years


male: 57.57 years


female: 64.8 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
83%

male:
72%

female:
93% (1999 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98%


male: 99%


female: 97% (1989 est.)
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan
Map references Africa Asia
Maritime claims none (landlocked) none (landlocked)
Merchant marine - total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,600 GRT/5,000 DWT


ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2002 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 Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; includes Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police (RLMP) Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) $90 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 3.4% (FY99)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
515,464 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 1,206,920 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
277,369 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 979,282 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 48,292 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Independence Day, 27 October (1991)
Nationality noun:
Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)

adjective:
Basotho
noun: Turkmen(s)


adjective: Turkmen
Natural hazards periodic droughts NA
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals petroleum, natural gas, coal, sulfur, salt
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 250 km; natural gas 4,400 km
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; Dr. Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; 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] Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]


note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries
Political pressure groups and leaders NA NA
Population 2,177,062

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 2001 est.)
4,688,963 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 49.2% (1999 est.) 34% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 1.49% (2001 est.) 1.84% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors none Turkmenbasy
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios 104,000 (1997) 1.225 million (1997)
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)
total: 2,440 km


broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2001)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2%
Sex ratio 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 (2001 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment:
rudimentary system

domestic:
consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system

international:
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: poorly developed


domestic: NA


international: linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat
Telephones - main lines in use 20,000 (1997) 363,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1,262 (1996) 4,300 (1998)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 3 (much programming relayed from Russia and Turkey) (1997)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west
Total fertility rate 4.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) 3.54 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) NA%
Waterways none the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan
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