2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 797-5 534;
US--Ambassador (vacant): Deputy Chief of Mission Howard F. JETER;
Embassy at address NA, Maseru (mailing address is P. O. Box 333, Maseru
100); telephone [266] 312666
Flag: 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
- Economy
Overview: Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho has no important
natural resources other than water. Its economy is based on agriculture,
light manufacturing, and remittances from laborers employed in South Africa.
Subsistence farming is the principal occupation for about 86% of the domestic
labor force and accounts for about 20% of GDP. Manufacturing depends largely on
farm products to support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries;
other industries include textile, clothing, and light engineering. Industry's
share of total GDP rose from 6% in 1982 to 10.5% in 1987. During the period
1985-87 real GDP growth averaged 2.9% per year, only slightly above the
population growth rate. In FY89 per capita GDP was only $245 and
nearly 25% of the labor force was unemployed.
GDP: $412 million, per capita $245; real growth rate 8.2% (FY89 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.0% (FY89 est.)
Unemployment rate: 23% (1988)
Budget: revenues $159 million; expenditures $224 million, including
capital expenditures of $68 million (FY89 est.)
Exports: $55 million (f.o.b., FY89 est.); commodities--wool,
mohair, wheat, cattle, peas, beans, corn, hides, skins, baskets;
partners--South Africa 87%, EC 10%, (1985)
Imports: $526 million (f.o.b., FY89 est.); commodities--mainly
corn, building materials, clothing, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum,
oil, and lubricants; partners--South Africa 95%, EC 2% (1985)
External debt: $235 million (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 10.3% (1988 est.)
Electricity: power supplied by South Africa
Industries: tourism
Agriculture: exceedingly primitive, mostly subsistence farming and
livestock; principal crops are corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $252 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $714 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $4 million; Communist countries (1970-88),
$14 million
Currency: loti (plural--maloti); 1 loti (L) = 100 lisente
Exchange rates: maloti (M) per US$1--2.5555 (January 1990),
2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988), 2.0350 (1987), 2.2685 (1986), 2.1911 (1985);
note--the Basotho loti is at par with the South African rand
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
- Communications
Railroads: 1.6 km; owned, operated, and included in the statistics of
South Africa
Highways: 5,167 km total; 508 km paved; 1,585 km crushed stone,
gravel, or stabilized soil; 946 km improved earth, 2,128 km unimproved earth
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 28 total, 28 usable; 2 with permanent surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: modest system consisting of a few land lines, a small
radio relay system, and minor radiocommunication stations; 5,920 telephones;
stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Air Wing, Police Department
Military manpower: males 15-49, 381,015; 205,499 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: 8.6% of GDP, or $35 million (1989 est.)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Liberia
- Geography
Total area: 111,370 km2; land area: 96,320 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries: 1,585 km total; Guinea 563 km, Ivory Coast 716 km,
Sierra Leone 306 km
Coastline: 579 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool
to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau
and low mountains in northeast
Natural resources: iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold
Land use: 1% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures;
39% forest and woodland; 55% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: West Africa's largest tropical rain forest, subject to
deforestation
- People
Population: 2,639,809 (July 1990), growth rate 3.4% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 126 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 58 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Liberian(s); adjective--Liberian
Ethnic divisions: 95% indigenous African tribes, including Kpelle, Bassa,
Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, and Bella; 5%
descendants of repatriated slaves known as Americo-Liberians
Religion: 70% traditional, 20% Muslim, 10% Christian
Language: English (official); more than 20 local languages of the
Niger-Congo language group; English used by about 20%
Literacy: 35%
Labor force: 510,000, including 220,000 in the monetary economy;
70.5% agriculture, 10.8% services, 4.5% industry and commerce, 14.2% other;
non-African foreigners hold about 95% of the top-level management and
engineering jobs; 52% of population of working age
Organized labor: 2% of labor force
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Liberia
Type: republic
Capital: Monrovia
Administrative divisions: 13 counties; Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa,
Grand Cape Mount, Grand Jide, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado,
Nimba, Rivercess, Sino
Independence: 26 July 1847
Constitution: 6 January 1986
Legal system: dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common
law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices
for indigenous sector
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an
upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Judicial branch: People's Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Gen. Dr. Samuel Kanyon
DOE (since 12 April 1980); Vice President Harry F. MONIBA (since 6 January
1986)
Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Party of Liberia
(NDPL), Augustus Caine, chairman; Liberian Action Party (LAP), Emmanuel
Koromah, chairman; Unity Party (UP), Carlos Smith, chairman; United
People's Party (UPP), Gabriel Baccus Matthews, chairman
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held on 15 October 1985 (next to be held October 1991);
results--Samuel Kanyon Doe (NDPL) 50.9%, Jackson Doe (LAP) 26.4%,
others 22.7%;
Senate--last held on 15 October 1985 (next to be held 15 October
1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(26 total) NDPL 21, LAP 3, UP 1, LUP 1;
House of Representatives--last held on 15 October 1985 (next
to be held October 1991); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(64 total) NDPL 51, LAP 8, UP 3, LUP 2
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, Mano River Union, NAM,
OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Eugenia A. WORDSWORTH-STEVENSON;
Chancery at 5201 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20011; telephone (202) 723-0437
through 0440; there is a Liberian Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador James K. BISHOP; Embassy at 111 United Nations Drive,
Monrovia (mailing address is P. O. Box 98, Monrovia, or APO New York 09155);
telephone [231] 222991 through 222994
Flag: 11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with
white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper
hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag
- Economy
Overview: In 1988 and 1989 the Liberian economy posted its best two years
in a decade, thanks to a resurgence of the rubber industry and rapid growth
in exports of forest products. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources,
forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia is a producer and
exporter of basic products. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, is
small in scope. Liberia imports primarily machinery and parts, transportation
equipment, petroleum products, and foodstuffs. Persistent budget deficits,
the flight of capital, and deterioration of transport and other infrastructure
continue to hold back economic progress.
GDP: $988 million, per capita $395; real growth rate 1.5% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 43% urban (1988)
Budget: revenues $242.1 million; expenditures $435.4 million, including
capital expenditures of $29.5 million (1989)
Exports: $550 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--iron ore 61%,
rubber 20%, timber 11%, coffee; partners--US, EC, Netherlands
Imports: $335 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--rice, mineral
fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, other foodstuffs;
partners--US, EC, Japan, China, Netherlands, ECOWAS
External debt: $1.7 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 1.5% in
manufacturing (1987)
Electricity: 400,000 kW capacity; 730 million kWh produced,
290 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: rubber processing, food processing, construction
materials, furniture, palm oil processing, mining (iron ore, diamonds)
Agriculture: accounts for about 40% of GDP (including fishing and
forestry); principal products--rubber, timber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava,
palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, and goats; not self-sufficient in food,
imports 25% of rice consumption
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $634 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $793 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $25 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $77
million
Currency: Liberian dollar (plural--dollars);
1 Liberian dollar (L$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Liberian dollars (L$) per US$1--1.00 (fixed rate since
1940); unofficial parallel exchange rate of L$2.5 = US$1, January 1989
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Railroads: 480 km total; 328 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 152 km
1.067-meter narrow gauge; all lines single track; rail systems owned and
operated by foreign steel and financial interests in conjunction with Liberian
Government
Highways: 10,087 km total; 603 km bituminous treated, 2,848 km
all weather, 4,313 km dry weather; there are also 2,323 km of private,
laterite-surfaced roads open to public use, owned by rubber and timber
companies
Ports: Monrovia, Buchanan, Greenville, Harper (or Cape Palmas)
Merchant marine: 1,379 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 48,655,666 DWT/
90,005,898 DWT; includes 11 passenger, 148 cargo, 26 refrigerated cargo, 18
roll-on/roll-off cargo, 42 vehicle carrier, 42 container, 4 barge
carrier, 436 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 100 chemical,
63 combination ore/oil, 41 liquefied gas, 6 specialized tanker, 413
bulk, 2 multifunction large-load carrier, 26 combination bulk; note--a
flag of convenience registry; all ships are foreign owned; the top
four owning flags are US 17%, Hong Kong 13%, Japan 10%, and Greece 10%;
China owns at least 20 ships and Vietnam owns 1
Civil air: 3 major transport aircraft
Airports: 76 total, 60 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: telephone and telegraph service via radio relay
network; main center is Monrovia; 8,500 telephones; stations--3 AM, 4 FM, 5 TV;
2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
- Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces of Liberia, Liberia National Coast Guard
Military manpower: males 15-49, 627,519; 335,063 fit for military service;
no conscription
Defense expenditures: 2.4% of GDP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Libya
- Geography
Total area: 1,759,540 km2; land area: 1,759,540 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries: 4,383 km total; Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt
1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km
Coastline: 1,770 km
Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 12 nm;
Gulf of Sidra closing line: 32o 30' N
Disputes: claims and occupies a small portion of the Aozou Strip in
northern Chad; maritime boundary dispute with Tunisia; Libya claims about 19,400
km2 in northern Niger; Libya claims about 19,400 km2 in southeastern Algeria
Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior
Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, gypsum
Land use: 1% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 8% meadows and pastures;
0% forest and woodland; 91% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting
one to four days in spring and fall; desertification; sparse natural
surface-water resources
Note: the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water
development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large
aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities
- People
Population: 4,221,141 (July 1990), growth rate 3.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 64 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 65 years male, 70 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.2 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Libyan(s); adjective--Libyan
Ethnic divisions: 97% Berber and Arab; some Greeks, Maltese, Italians,
Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians
Religion: 97% Sunni Muslim
Language: Arabic; Italian and English widely understood in major cities
Literacy: 50-60%
Labor force: 1,000,000, includes about 280,000 resident
foreigners; 31% industry, 27% services, 24% government, 18% agriculture
Organized labor: National Trade Unions' Federation, 275,000 members;
General Union for Oil and Petrochemicals; Pan-Africa Federation of Petroleum
Energy and Allied Workers
- Government
Long-form name: Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Type: Jamahiriya (a state of the masses); in theory, governed by
the populace through local councils; in fact, a military dictatorship
Capital: Tripoli
Administrative divisions: 46 municipalities (baladiyat,
singular--baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al Abyar, Al Aziziyah,
Al Bayda, Al Jufrah, Al Jumayl, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, Al Marj,
Al Qarabulli, Al Qubbah, Al Ujaylat, Ash Shati,
Awbari, Az Zahra, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Bani Walid,
Bin Jawwad, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Ghat, Jadu, Jalu,
Janzur, Masallatah, Misratah, Mizdah, Murzuq, Nalut,
Qaminis, Qasr Bin Ghashir, Sabha, Sabratah, Shahhat,
Surman, Surt, Tajura, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq,
Tukrah, Yafran, Zlitan, Zuwarah; note--the number of municipalities may
have been reduced to 13 named Al Jabal al-Akhdar, Al Jabal al-Gharbi,
Al Jabal al-Khums, Al Batnam, Al Kufrah, Al Marqab, Al Marzuq, Az Zawiyah,
Banghazi, Khalij Surt, Sabha, Tripoli, Wadi al-Hayat
Independence: 24 December 1951 (from Italy)
Constitution: 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977
Legal system: based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate
religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative
acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Revolution Day, 1 September (1969)
Executive branch: revolutionary leader, chairman of the General
People's Committee, General People's Committee (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral General People's Congress
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI
(since 1 September 1969);
Head of Government--Chairman of the General People's Committee (Premier)
Umar Mustafa al-MUNTASIR (since 1 March 1987)
Political parties and leaders: none
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of
revolutionary committees
Flag: plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state
religion)
- Economy
Overview: The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues
from the oil sector, which contributes virtually all export earnings and over
50% to GNP. Since 1980, however, the sharp drop in oil prices and resulting
decline in export revenues has adversely affected economic development. In 1986
per capita GNP was the highest in Africa at $5,410, but it had been $2,000
higher in 1982. Severe cutbacks in imports over the past five years have
led to shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs, although the reopening
of the Libyan-Tunisian border in April 1988 and the Libyan-Egyptian
border in December 1989 have somewhat eased shortages. Austerity
budgets and a lack of trained technicians have undermined the government's
ability to implement a number of planned infrastructure development
projects. The nonoil industrial and construction sectors, which
account for about 15% of GNP, have expanded from processing
mostly agricultural products to include petrochemicals, iron, steel,
and aluminum. Although agriculture accounts for less than 5% of GNP, it employs
20% of the labor force. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit farm
output, requiring Libya to import about 75% of its food requirements.
GNP: $20 billion, per capita $5,410; real growth rate 0% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: 2% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $6.4 billion; expenditures $11.3 billion, including
capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (1986 est.)
Exports: $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--petroleum,
peanuts, hides; partners--Italy, USSR, FRG, Spain, France,
Belgium/Luxembourg, Turkey
Imports: $5.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--machinery,
transport equipment, food, manufactured goods; partners--Italy, USSR,
FRG, UK, Japan
External debt: $2.1 billion, excluding military debt (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 4,580,000 kW capacity; 13,360 million kWh produced,
3,270 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement
Agriculture: 5% of GNP; cash crops--wheat, barley, olives, dates,
citrus fruits, peanuts; 75% of food is imported
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-87), $242 million
Currency: Libyan dinar (plural--dinars);
1 Libyan dinar (LD) = 1,000 dirhams
Exchange rates: Libyan dinars (LD) per US$1--0.2896 (January 1990),
0.2922 (1989), 0.2853 (1988), 0.2706 (1987), 0.3139 (1986), 0.2961 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
Highways: 32,500 km total; 24,000 km bituminous and bituminous treated,
8,500 km gravel, crushed stone and earth
Pipelines: crude oil 4,383 km; natural gas 1,947 km; refined products
443 km (includes 256 km liquid petroleum gas)
Ports: Tobruk, Tripoli, Banghazi, Misratah, Marsa el Brega
Merchant marine: 30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 816,546
GRT/1,454,874 DWT; includes 3 short-sea passenger, 11 cargo, 4 roll-on/roll-off
cargo, 11 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker
Civil air: 59 major transport aircraft
Airports: 130 total, 122 usable; 53 with permanent-surface runways;
7 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 44 with runways
1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: modern telecommunications system using radio relay,
coaxial cable, tropospheric scatter, and domestic satellite stations;
370,000 telephones; stations--18 AM, 3 FM, 13 TV; satellite earth stations--
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and 14 domestic;
submarine cables to France and Italy; radio relay to Tunisia; tropospheric
scatter to Greece; planned ARABSAT and Intersputnik satellite stations
- Defense Forces
Branches: Armed Forces of the Libyan Arab Jamahariya includes
People's Defense (Army), Arab Air Force and Air Defense Command, Arab
Navy
Military manpower: males 15-49, 991,368; 584,512 fit for military service;
50,379 reach military age (17) annually; conscription now being implemented
Defense expenditures: 11.1% of GNP (1987)
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Liechtenstein
- Geography
Total area: 160 km2; land area: 160 km2
Comparative area: about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 78 km total; Austria 37 km, Switzerland 41 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Climate: continental; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow or rain;
cool to moderately warm, cloudy, humid summers
Terrain: mostly mountainous (Alps) with Rhine Valley in western third
Natural resources: hydroelectric potential
Land use: 25% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 38% meadows and
pastures; 19% forest and woodland; 18% other
Environment: variety of microclimatic variations based on elevation
Note: landlocked
- People
Population: 28,292 (July 1990), growth rate 0.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 81 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun--Liechtensteiner(s); adjective--Liechtenstein
Ethnic divisions: 95% Alemannic, 5% Italian and other
Religion: 82.7% Roman Catholic, 7.1% Protestant, 10.2% other
Language: German (official), Alemannic dialect
Literacy: 100%
Labor force: 12,258; 5,078 foreign workers (mostly from Switzerland and
Austria); 54.4% industry, trade, and building; 41.6% services; 4.0% agriculture,
fishing, forestry, and horticulture
Organized labor: NA
- Government
Long-form name: Principality of Liechtenstein
Type: hereditary constitutional monarchy
Capital: Vaduz
Administrative divisions: 11 communes (gemeinden, singular--gemeinde);
Balzers, Eschen, Gamprin, Mauren, Planken, Ruggell, Schaan, Schellenberg,
Triesen, Triesenberg, Vaduz
Independence: 23 January 1719, Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein
established
Constitution: 5 October 1921
Legal system: local civil and penal codes; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: St. Joseph's Day, 19 March
Executive branch: reigning prince, hereditary prince, prime
minister, deputy prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Diet (Landtag)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for criminal
cases and Superior Court (Obergericht) for civil cases
Leaders:
Chief of State--Prince HANS ADAM von und zu Liechtenstein
(since 13 November 1989; assumed executive powers 26 August 1984);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Hans BRUNHART (since 26 April 1978);
Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Herbert WILLE (since 2 February 1986)
Political parties and leaders: Fatherland Union (VU), Dr. Otto Hasler;
Progressive Citizens' Party (FBP), Dr. Herbert Batliner; Christian Social Party,
Fritz Kaiser
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
Diet--last held on 5 March 1989 (next to be held by March 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(25 total) VU 13, FBP 12
Communists: none