1984 Edition

Agriculture

exceedingly primitive, mostly subsistence farming and livestock; principal crops are corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley

crops — coconut, limited production of millet, corn, pumpkins, sweet potatoes; shortages — rice, sugar, flour

agriculture accounts for about 25% of GDP; main crops — rice, rubber, tea, coconuts

main crops — rice, sugar, corn, rubber, manioc

Airfields

2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanentsurface runways; 2 with runways 2,4403,659m

14 total, 11 usable; 11 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 8 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Area

30,460 km2; 15% cultivable; 13% arable; largely mountainous

595,700 km2; 58% pasture; 21% forest; 8% waste; 6% other; 5% cultivated; 2% rivers and lakes Water

298 km2; 2,000 islands grouped into 12 atolls; about 220 islands inhabited Water

444 km2; 54% arable land, nearly all cultivated; 17% woods and forest; 29% other (mainly reefs and other surfaces unsuited for agriculture); 40 granitic and 50 or more coralline islands Water

65,610 km2; 44% forest; 31% waste, urban, or other; 25% cultivated Water

*l MAWYS1A Land 514,820 km2; 56% forest; 24% farm; 20% other

Bailroads

1.6 km; owned, operated, and included in the statistics of the Republic of

Branches

executive, divided between a largely ceremonial King and a Prime Minister who leads Cabinet of at least seven members; Prime Minister dismissed bicameral legislature in early 1970 and subsequently ruled by decree until 1973, when he appointed Interim National Assembly to act as legislative branch; judicial — 63 Lesotho courts administer customary law for Africans, High Court and subordinate courts have criminal jurisdiction over all residents, Court of Appeal at Maseru has appellate jurisdiction

popularly elected unicameral national legislature — People's Council (members elected for five-year terms); elected President, chief executive; appointed Chief Justice responsible for administration of Islamic law

the 1978 constitution established a strong presidential form of government under J. R. Jayewardene, who had been Prime Minister since his party's election victory in July 1977; Jayewardene was elected to a second term in October 1982 and will serve until 1989 regardless of whether Parliament is dissolved; the current Parliament was extended until August 1989 by a national referendum held in December 1982

Army, Air Force, Navy, Police Force

King is head of state with nominal powers; bicameral legislature (National Assembly— Senate appointed by King, elected House of Representatives); judiciary relatively independent except in important political subversive cases

Budget

(FY81/82) revenues, $143.5 million; current expenditures, $144.7 million; development (capital) expenditures, $76.6 million

(1983 est.) revenue $22.7 million; expenditure $41.65 million (at official rate of 5.50 rufiyaa=US$l

(1982) revenue $854.1 million, expenditures $1.8 billion

(FY83) estimate of expenditures, $7.7 billion; Defense Ministry budget, $1.5 billion

Capital

Maseru

Male

Colombo

Bangkok

Civil air

1 major transport aircraft

8 major transport (including 1 leased)

Coastline

4,828 km People

644 km (approx.) People

491 km (Mahe Island 93 km) People

1,340km People

3,219 km People

Communists

negligible, Communist Party of Lesotho banned in early 1970

negligible number

approximately 107,000 voted for the Communist Party in the July 1977 general election; Communist Party/Moscow approximately 5,000 members (1975), Communist Party/Peking 1,000 members (1970 est.)

strength of illegal Communist Party is about 1,200; Thai Communist insurgents throughout Thailand total an estimated 7,000

Elections

elections held in January 1970; nullified allegedly because of election irregularities; subsequent elections promised at unspecified date Political parties and leaders: Basotho National Party (BNP), Leabua Jonathan; Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), Ntsu Mokhehle

national elections ordinarily held every six years; must be held more frequently if government loses confidence vote; the constitution was amended in August 1982 to permit the President to call early presidential election Sri Lanka (continued) Political parties and leaders: Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike; Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP; Trotskyite), C. R. de Silva; Naya Sama Samaja Party (NSSP), V. Nanayakkara; Tamil United Liberation Front, A. Amirthalingam; United National Party (UNP), J. R. Jayewardene; Communist Party/Moscow, K. P. Silva; Communist Party/Peking, N. Shanmugathasan; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front), M. B. Ratnayaka; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; People's Liberation Front), Rohana Wijeweera; All-Ceylon Tamil Congress, Kumar Ponnambalam

last held April 1983

Electric power

2,000 kW capacity (1983); 38 million kWh imported from South Africa (1983)

4,500 kW capacity (1981); 9 million kWh produced (1981), 57 kWh per capita

562,000 kW capacity (1982); 2.0 billion kWh produced (1982), 130 kWh per capita

4,300,000 kW capacity (1983); 18.0billionkWhproduced(1983), 355 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

99.7% Sotho; 1,600 Europeans, 800 Asians

basic split between highlanders of predominantly MalayoIndonesian origin, consisting of Merina (1,643,000) and related Betsileo (760,000) on the one hand and coastal tribes — collectively termed the Cotiers — with mixed Negroid, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry on the other; coastal tribes include Betsimisaraka 941,000, Tsimihety 442,000, Antaisaka 415,000, Sakalava 375,000; there are also 10,000-12,000 European French, 5,000 Indians of French nationality, and 5,000 Creoles

admixtures of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, and black

Seychellois (mixture of Asians, Africans, Europeans)

74% Sinhalese; 18% Tamil; 7% Moor; 1% Burgher, Malay, and Veddoh

75% Thai, 14% Chinese, 11% other

Exports

labor to South Africa (remittances $102 million est. in 1982); $37 million (f.o.b., 1982), wool, mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides, skins, tourism

US$17.3 million (1982)

$1.0 billion (f.o.b., 1982); tea, rubber, petroleum products, textiles

$7.2 billion (f.o.b., 1982); rice, sugar, corn, rubber, tin, tapioca, kenaf

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March Communications

calendar year Communications

1 January-31 December Communications

1 October-30 September Communications

Fishing

catch 30,300 (est.) metric tons (1982)

catch 176,720 metric tons (1982 est.)

catch 2. 1 million metric tons (1979); major fishery export, shrimp, 18,628 metric tons, about $116 million (1979); 2,098 calories and 46.3 grams protein per day per capita (1977)

GDP

$74 million (1982), 462 per capita; real growth rate (est. 1982), 9%

$4.4 billion (1982), $286 per capita; real growth rate 4.2% (1983)

GNP

$569.0 million (1980), $424 per capita; real growth rate, -2% (1983)

$38.4 billion (1982), $800 per capita; 5% real growth in 1983 (8.2% real growth, 1975-79)

Government leader

Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM, President

Junius Richard JAYEWARDENE, President

Government leaders

MOSHOESHOE II, King; Dr. Leabua JONATHAN, Prime Minister

BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ, King; Gen. PREM TINSULANONDA, Prime Minister

Highways

none

66, 176 km total (1979); 24,300 km paved (mostly bituminous treated), 28,916 km crushed stone or gravel, 12,960 km improved earth or unimproved earth; in addition, several thousand km of tracks, mostly unmotorable

Imports

$420 million (c.i.f., 1982); mainly corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, petroleum, oil, and lubricants

US$46.0 million (1982)

$2.0 billion (c.i.f., 1982); petroleum, machinery, transport equipment, sugar

$9.3 billion (c.i.f., 1982); machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, base metals, chemicals, and fertilizer

Inland waterways

430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft

Labor force

426,000 economically active (1976); 87.4% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; 1 50,000 to 250,000 spend from six months to many years as wage earners in South Africa •

about 3.4 million, of which 90% are nonsalaried family workers engaged in subsistence agriculture; of 175,000 wage and salary earners, 26% agriculture, 17% domestic service, 15% industry, 14% commerce, 11% construction, 9% services, 6% transportation, 2% miscellaneous

total employment is approximately 66,000; fishing industry employs 80% of the labor force Government

15,000 in monetized sector (excluding self-employed, domestic servants, and workers on small farms); 49% government, 19% industry and commerce, 18.5% agriculture, 13.5% services

4 million; 15% unemployed; employed persons — 45.9% agriculture, 13.3% mining and manufacturing, 12.4% trade and transport, 26.3% services and other; extensive underemployment

23.4 million (1981 est); 76% agriculture, 9% industry and commerce, 9% services, 6% government Government

Land boundaries

805 km People

4,868 km Water

Language

Sesotho (southern Sotho) and English (official); also Zulu and Xhosa

French and Malagasy official

Divehi (dialect of Sinhala; script derived from Arabic); English spoken by most government officials

English and French (official); Creole

Sinhala (official); Sinhala and Tamil listed as national languages; Sinhala spoken by about 74% of population; Tamil spoken by about 18%; English commonly used in government and spoken by about 10% of the population

Thai; English secondary language of elite; ethnic and regional dialects

Legal system

based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; constitution came into effect 1966; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; legal education at National University of Lesotho; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim and customary law; new constitution 7 September 1978 reinstituted a strong, independent judiciary; legal education at Sri Lanka Law College and University of Sri Lanka, Peradeniya; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

based on civil law system, with influences of common law; legal education at Thammasat University; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

50 nm (fishing 150 nm; exclusive economic zone 150 nm)

the land and sea between latitudes 7°9'N and 0°45'S and between longitudes 72°30'E and 73°48'E; these coordinates form a rectangle of approximately 37,000 nm8; territorial sea ranges from 2.75 to 55 nm; fishing, approximately 100 nm; economic, approximately 200 nm

12 nm (economic, including fishing, 200 nm)

12 nm (fishing 200 nm, plus pearling in the Gulf of Mannar; 200 nm exclusive economic zone)

12 nm (fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm)

Literacy

55%

53%

36%

60%

84.8%

84%

Major industries

none

fishing, some coconut processing, tourism, garment industry, woven mats, shipping, coir (rope)

processing of rubber, tea, and other agricultural commodities; consumer goods manufacture; garment industry

agricultural processing, textiles, wood and wood products, cement, tin and tungsten ore mining; world's second largest tungsten producer and third largest tin producer

Major trade partner

South Africa; member of Southern African Customs Union

Major trade partners

Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand

(1982) exports— 14% US, 6% UK; imports— 15% Saudi Arabia, 14% Japan

exports — Japan, US, Singapore, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Malaysia; imports — Japan, US, FRG, UK, Singapore, Saudi Arabia; about 1% or less trade with Communist countries

Member of

Af DB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO Economy

ADB, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth (special member), FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, QIC, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO Economy

ADB, ANRPC, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, NAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO; is applying for membership in ASEAN Economy

ADB, ANRPC, ASEAN, ASPAC, Association of Tin Producing Countries, Colombo Plan, GATT, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1984, about $1.4 million

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1983, $76.4 million, 3.5% of central government current budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 4,210,000; 3,307,000 fit for military service; 185,000 reach military age (18) annually

Monetary conversion rate

the Lesotho maloti exchanges at par with the South African rand; 1.22 maloti=US$l (30 December 1983)

5.50 Maldivian rufiyas=US$l, official rate; 7.05 Maldivian rufiyas=US$l, market rate (August 1983)

22.915 rupees=US$l (October 1983)

22.975 baht = US$l (February 1984)

National holiday

4 October

Independence Day, 22 May

Birthday of the King, 5 December

National holidays

Independence Day, 26 July; Republic Day, 11 November

Nationality

noun — Mosotho (sing.), Basotho (pi.); adjective — Basotho

noun — Malagasy (sing, and pi.); adjective — Malagasy

noun — Maldivian(s); adjective — Maldivian

noun — Seychellois (sing, and pi.); adjective — Seychelles

noun — Sri Lankan(s); adjective — Sri Lankan

noun — Thai (sing, and pi.); adjective — Thai

Official name

Kingdom of Lesotho

Democratic Republic of

Republic of Maldives

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Kingdom of Thailand

Organized labor

negligible Government

4% of labor force Government

3 major trade unions

about 33% of labor force, over 50% of which employed on tea, rubber, and coconut estates Government

Other political or pressure groups

Buddhist clergy, Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; far-left violent revolutionary groups; labor unions; Tamil separatist groups

Pipelines

crude, 13 km; refined products, 77km

Political parties

Social Action Party, Thai Nation Party, Thai People's Party, Thai Citizen Party, Democrat Party, Freedom and Justice Party, Nation and People Party, New Force Party, National Democracy Party; other small parties represented in parliament along with numerous independents

Political subdivisions

10 administrative districts

19 administrative districts corresponding to atolls

9 provinces, 24 administrative districts, and four categories of semiautonomous elected local governments

73 centrally controlled provinces

Population

1,474,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 2.5%

9,645,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 2.7%

173,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 3.0%

66,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 1.3%

15,925,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 1.8%

51,724,000 (July 1984), average annual growth rate 1.9%

Ports

2 minor (Male, Gan)

3 major, 9 minor

Railroads

none

1,496 km total (1980); all 1.435meter broad gauge; 102 km double track; no electrification; government owned

3,800 km 1.000-meter gauge, 97 km double track; 140 km 1.000-meter gauge under construction from Chachoeng Sao to Sattahip

Religion

80% Christian, rest indigenous beliefs

more than half indigenous beliefs; about 41% Christian, 7% Muslim

Sunni Muslim

90% Roman Catholic

69% Buddhist, 15% Hindu, 8% Christian, 8% Muslim, 0.1% other

95.5% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, 0.5% other

Shortages

fuel sources, including coal and petroleum; scrap iron; and fertilizer

Suffrage

universal for adults

universal over age 21 Political parties and leaders: no organized political parties; country governed by the Didi clan for the past eight centuries

universal over age 18

universal at age 20

Telecommunications

minimal domestic and international telecommunication facilities; 1,060 telephones (0.7 per 100 popl.); 1 TV. 1 FM, and 2 AM stations; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT station

good international service; 75,000 (est.) telephones (0.5 per 100 popl.); 16 AM, 2 FM, and 1 TV stations; submarine cables extend to India; 1 ground satellite station Defense Forces

Type

constitutional monarchy under King Moshoeshoe II; independent member of Commonwealth

republic

independent state since 1948

constitutional monarchy

Voting strength

(1965 election) National Assembly—BNP, 32 seats; BCP, 22 seats; minor parties, 4 seats

(October 1982 presidential election) UNP 52.91%, SLFP 39.07%, JVP 4.18%, All Ceylon Tamil Congress 2.67%, LSSP .9%, NSSP .27%