NA

NA (2002)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (2000)

Televisions:

Internet country code:

.ls

Internet hosts:

83 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

70,000 (2007)

Transportation
Lesotho

Airports:

28 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 7,091 km paved: 1,404 km unpaved: 5,687 km (2003)

Military
Lesotho

Military branches:

Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army (includes Air Wing) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 525,203 females age 16-49: 522,485 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 262,101 females age 16-49: 238,350 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 26,084 female: 26,006 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

2.6% of GDP (2006)

Military - note:

Lesotho's declared policy is maintenance of its independent sovereignty and preservation of internal security; in practice, external security is guaranteed by South Africa; restructuring of the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) and Ministry of Defense and Public Service over the past five years has focused on subordinating the defense apparatus to civilian control and restoring the LDF's cohesion; the restructuring has considerably improved capabilities and professionalism, but the LDF is disproportionately large for a small, poor country; the government has outlined a reduction to a planned 1,500-man strength, but these plans have met with vociferous resistance from the political opposition and from inside the LDF (2008)

Transnational Issues
Lesotho

Disputes - international:

none

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Liberia

Introduction
Liberia

Background:

Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years.

Geography
Liberia

Location:

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Geographic coordinates: