Cote D'ivoire- geography

Côte d'Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) is a sub-Saharan nation in southern West Africa located at 8 00°N, 5 00°W. The country is shaped like a square and borders the Gulf of Guinea on the north Atlantic Ocean to the south (515 km of coastline) and five other African nations on the other three sides, with a total of 3,110 km of borders: Liberia to the southwest (716 km), Guinea to the northwest (610 km), Mali to the north-northwest (532 km), Burkina Faso to the north-northeast, and Ghana to the east (668 km). In total, Côte d'Ivoire comprises 322,460 km², of which 318,000 km² is land and 4,460 km² is water, which makes the country slightly larger than the U.S. state of New Mexico, or about the size of Germany.

Rivers

Four major river systems follow meandering courses from north to south, draining into the Gulf of Guinea. From west to east these are the Cavally, Sassandra, Bandama, and Comoé--all relatively untamed rivers navigable only short distances inland from the coast. In the north, many smaller tributaries change to dry streambeds between rains.

The Cavally River has its headwaters in the Nimba Mountains of Guinea and forms the border between Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia for over half its length. It crosses rolling land and rapids and is navigable for about fifty kilometers inland from its exit to the sea near Cape Palmas.

The Sassandra River Basin has its source in the high ground of the north, where the Tiemba River joins the Férédougouba River, which flows from the Guinea highlands. It is joined by the Bagbé, Bafing, Nzo, Lobo, and Davo rivers and winds through shifting sandbars to form a narrow estuary, which is navigable for about eighty kilometers inland from the port of Sassandra.

The Bandama River, often referred to as the Bandama Blanc, is the longest in the country, joining the Bandama Rouge (also known as the Marahoué), Solomougou, Kan, and Nzi rivers over its 800-kilometer course. This large river system drains most of central Côte d'Ivoire before it flows into the Tagba Lagoon opposite Grand-Lahou. During rainy seasons, small craft navigate the Bandama for fifty or sixty kilometers inland.

Easternmost of the main rivers, the Comoé, formed by the Leraba and Gomonaba, has its sources in the Sikasso Plateau of Burkina Faso. It flows within a narrow 700-kilometer basin and receives the Kongo, and Iringou tributaries before winding among the coastal sandbars and emptying into the Ebrié Lagoon near Grand-Bassam. The Comoé is navigable for vessels of light draft for about fifty kilometers to Alépé.

Large dams were built in the 1960s and 1970s to control the flow of major rivers to the south. These projects created reservoirs, now referred to as lakes bearing the names of the dams- -Buyo on the Sassandra, Kossou and Taabo on the Bandama, and Ayamé on the small Bia River in the southeast corner of the country. Lake Kossou is the largest of these, occupying more than 1,600 square kilometers in the center of the country

Cote d'Ivoire - History

Cote d'Ivoire, a country of 18 million people, is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of coffee, cocoa beans, and palm oil. Per capita income averages $870 US. Beginning in 1999, the former French colony experienced years of political turmoil that resulted in violence, internal displacement, and economic downturn. In 2007, the civil war ended with the signing of a peace agreement.
Prehistory and early history

Little is known about the original inhabitants of Ivory Coast. Historians believe that they were all either displaced or absorbed by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. The first recorded history is found in the chronicles of North African traders, who, from early Roman times, conducted a caravan trade across the Sahara in salt, slaves, gold, and other items. The southern terminals of the trans-Saharan trade routes were located on the edge of the desert, and from there supplemental trade extended as far south as the edge of the rain forest. The more important terminals—Djenné, Gao, and Timbuctu—grew into major commercial centers around which the great Sudanic empires developed. By controlling the trade routes with their powerful military forces, these empires were able to dominate neighboring states. The Sudanic empires also became centers of Islamic learning. Islam had been introduced into the western Sudan by Arab traders from North Africa and spread rapidly after the conversion of many important rulers. From the eleventh century, by which time the rulers of the Sudanic empires had embraced Islam, it spread south into the northern areas of contemporary Côte d'Ivoire.

Ghana, the earliest of the Sudanic empires, flourished in present-day eastern Mauritania from the fourth to the thirteenth century. At the peak of its power in the eleventh century, its realms extended from the Atlantic Ocean to Timbuctu. After the decline of Ghana, the Mali Empire grew into a powerful Muslim state, which reached its apogee in the early part of the fourteenth century. The territory of the Mali Empire in Côte d'Ivoire was limited to the northwest corner around Odienné. Its slow decline starting at the end of the fourteenth century followed internal discord and revolts by vassal states, one of which, Songhai, flourished as an empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. Songhai was also weakened by internal discord, which led to factional warfare. This discord spurred most of the migrations of peoples southward toward the forest belt. The dense rain forest covering the southern half of the country created barriers to large-scale political organizations as seen further north. Inhabitants lived in villages or clusters of villages whose contacts with the outside world were filtered through long-distance traders. Villagers subsisted on agriculture and hunting.
Five important states flourished in Côte d'Ivoire in the pre-European era. The Muslim Kong Empire was established by the Juula in the early eighteenth century in the north-central region inhabited by the Sénoufo, who had fled Islamization under the Mali Empire. Although Kong became a prosperous center of agriculture, trade, and crafts, ethnic diversity and religious discord gradually weakened the kingdom. The city of Kong was destroyed in 1895 by Samori Touré. The Abron kingdom of Jaman was established in the seventeenth century by an Akan group, the Abron, who had fled the developing Asante confederation in what is present-day Ghana. From their settlement south of Bondoukou, the Abron gradually extended their hegemony over the Juula in Bondoukou, who were recent émigrés from the market city of Begho. Bondoukou developed into a major center of commerce and Islam. The kingdom's Quranic scholars attracted students from all parts of West Africa. In the mid-eighteenth century in east-central Côte d'Ivoire, other Akan groups fleeing the Asante established a Baoulé kingdom at Sakasso and two Agni kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi. The Baoulé, like the Asante, elaborated a highly centralized political and administrative structure under three successive rulers, but it finally split into smaller chiefdoms. Despite the breakup of their kingdom, the Baoulé strongly resisted French subjugation. The descendants of the rulers of the Agni kingdoms tried to retain their separate identity long after Côte d'Ivoire's independence; as late as 1969, the Sanwi of Krinjabo attempted to break away from Côte d'Ivoire and form an independent kingdom.[5]
Trade with Europe and the Americas
The African continent, situated between Europe and the imagined treasures of the Far East, quickly became the destination of the European explorers of the fifteenth century. The first Europeans to explore the West African coast were the Portuguese. Other European sea powers soon followed, and trade was established with many of the coastal peoples of West Africa. At first, the trade included gold, ivory, and pepper, but the establishment of American colonies in the sixteenth century spurred a demand for slaves, who soon became the major export from the West African coastal regions (see African slave trade). Local rulers, under treaties with the Europeans, procured goods and slaves from inhabitants of the interior. By the end of the fifteenth century, commercial contacts with Europe had spawned strong European influences, which permeated areas northward from the West African coast.
Côte d'Ivoire, like the rest of West Africa, was subject to these influences, but the absence of sheltered harbors along its coastline prevented Europeans from establishing permanent trading posts. Seaborne trade, therefore, was irregular and played only a minor role in the penetration and eventual conquest by Europeans of Côte d'Ivoire. The slave trade, in particular, had little effect on the peoples of Côte d'Ivoire. A profitable trade in ivory, which gave the area its name, was carried out during the seventeenth century, but it brought about such a decline in elephants that the trade itself virtually had died out by the beginning of the eighteenth century.
The earliest recorded French voyage to West Africa took place in 1483. The first West African French settlement, Saint Louis, was founded in the mid-seventeenth century in Senegal, while at about the same time the Dutch ceded to the French a settlement at Ile de Gorée off Dakar. A French mission was established in 1687 at Assinie, near the Gold Coast (now Ghana) border, and it became the first European outpost in that area. Assini's survival was precarious, however, and only in the mid-nineteenth century did the French establish themselves firmly in Côte d'Ivoire. By that time, they had already established settlements around the mouth of the Senegal River and at other points along the coasts of what are now Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Meanwhile, the British had permanent outposts in the same areas and on the Gulf of Guinea east of Côte d'Ivoire.
In the 18th century, the country was invaded by two related Akan groups – the Agni, who occupied the southeast, and the Baoulés, who settled in the central section. In 1843–1844, French admiral Bouët-Willaumez signed treaties with the kings of the Grand Bassam and Assini regions, placing their territories under a French protectorate. French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region. However, pacification was not accomplished until 1915.
Activity along the coast stimulated European interest in the interior, especially along the two great rivers, the Senegal and the Niger. Concerted French exploration of West Africa began in the mid-nineteenth century but moved slowly and was based more on individual initiative than on government policy. In the 1840s, the French concluded a series of treaties with local West African rulers that enabled the French to build fortified posts along the Gulf of Guinea to serve as permanent trading centers. The first posts in Côte d'Ivoire included one at Assinie and another at Grand-Bassam, which became the colony's first capital. The treaties provided for French sovereignty within the posts and for trading privileges in exchange for fees or coutumes paid annually to the local rulers for the use of the land. The arrangement was not entirely satisfactory to the French because trade was limited and misunderstandings over treaty obligations often arose. Nevertheless, the French government maintained the treaties, hoping to expand trade. France also wanted to maintain a presence in the region to stem the increasing influence of the British along the Gulf of Guinea coast.

The defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War (1871) and the subsequent annexation by Germany of the French province of Alsace-Lorraine caused the French government to abandon its colonial ambitions and withdraw its military garrisons from its French West African trading posts, leaving them in the care of resident merchants. The trading post at Grand-Bassam in Côte d'Ivoire was left in the care of a shipper from Marseille, Arthur Verdier, who in 1878 was named resident of the Establishment of Côte d'Ivoire.

In 1885 France and Germany brought all the European powers with interests in Africa together at the Berlin Conference. Its principal objective was to rationalize what became known as the European scramble for colonies in Africa. Prince Otto von Bismarck also wanted a greater role in Africa for Germany, which he thought he could achieve in part by fostering competition between France and Britain. The agreement signed by all participants in 1885 stipulated that on the African coastline only European annexations or spheres of influence that involved effective occupation by Europeans would be recognized. Another agreement in 1890 extended this rule to the interior of Africa and set off a scramble for territory, primarily by France, Britain, Portugal, and Belgium.

Rank of Cameroon

The rank of Cameroon from the poorest country of the world is 52nd and from the richest cou try is 154th with national average per capita income using atlas method is 640.and gdp (nominal) per capita IMF/WB/CIA
rank/gdp.......rank/gdp............rank/gdp
128/1,097...121/1,114.......131/1,143
GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate


- Total $47.251 billion

- Per capita $2,257

GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate

- Total $25.759 billion

- Per capita $1,230.            

Cameroon-Education

The educational system of Cameroon is very popular in Africa. The method of learning is different in the eastern and the western part of Cameroon. The educational system of East Cameroon followed the methods

of French model and the West Cameroon's system was based on the British model. In 1976, the two systems merged up making a stronger learning system in Cameroon.

The Cameroon education is mainly divided into four categories namely, tertiary education, primary, secondary and higher education. The primary schools in Cameroon provide free education to the students and it is mandatory for every pupil. There are several primary schools in the country providing basic education to the children of Cameroon. Some of the primary schools belong to the government and others are run by religious organizations.

After completing primary education, a student can pursue higher education, depending upon the financial condition of the family. The secondary educational system is divided into three parts namely, secondary schools, vocational schools and apprenticeships. For further studies a student can take admission in any of the six public varsities of Cameroon.
In 2001, the literacy rate of Cameroon was estimated to be 67.9% (77% for males and 59.8% for females). Most children have access to state-run schools that are cheaper than private and religious facilities. The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents with most instruction in English or French. Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa. Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes, domestic duties, early marriage and pregnancy, and sexual harassment. Although attendance rates are higher in the south, a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there, leaving northern schools chronically understaffed.


The quality of health care is generally low. Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped. Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 54.71 years in 2012, among the lowest in the world. Endemic diseases include dengue fever, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and sleeping sickness. The HIV/AIDS seroprevalence rate is estimated at 5.4% for those aged 15–49, although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low. Traditional healers remain a popular alternative to Western medicine.

Cameroon - Politics

List of political parties in Cameroon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cameroon
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This article lists the various political parties in Cameroon.
Cameroon is a one party dominant state with the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement in power. Opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power.
The parties
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (Rassemblement démocratique du Peuple Camerounais)
Social Democratic Front (Front Social-Démocratique)
Democratic Union of Cameroon (Union Démocratique du Cameroun)
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (Union des Populations du Cameroun)
National Union for Democracy and Progress (Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Progrès)
Cameroonian Party of Democrats (Parti des Démocrates Camerounais)
Alliance for Democracy and Development (Alliance pour la Démocratie et le Développement)
Movement for the Defense of the Republic (Mouvement pour la Défense de la République)
Cameroon Reformation Party (CRP-Party)

Cameroon-Industry

Industry accounted for 31% of GDP in 2001. Considerable advances in industrial development have been made in recent years, mostly in the south. Cameroon's first oil refinery opened at Limbé in May 1981. Since then, oil production has gained paramount importance for the country. Cameroon is sub-Saharan Africa's fifth largest oil producer. The government, once a large shareholder in many industries, including aluminum, wood pulp, and oil refining, now advocates privatization. The government reported an annual growth of 8.2% in the manufacturing sector for 1998. Exports of logs and rubber were down 50% in 1998, partly because of tightening logging restrictions. There is a rubber factory in the Dizangué region, and about 20 large sawmills and five plywood factories and lumber mills.

The first industrial establishment not connected with agriculture processing and forestry was the Cameroonian Aluminum Refining Co. In 1957, the company opened at Edéa, importing ore from Guinea. Output was estimated at 74,800 metric tons in 1995. This was the only public sector monopoly not privatized by the year 2000. The most significant agricultural processing enterprises were the peanut and palm oil mills at Edéa, Douala, Bertoua, and Pitoa; soap factories at Douala and Pitoa; and tobacco factories at Yaoundé. Other concerns included a factory at Kaélé that produced cotton fiber and a cotton oil plant there that produces for export. There was a textile-weaving factory in Douala and a bleaching, dyeing, and printing factory in Garoua.

Cement plants were at Figuil and near Douala: in 1995, cement production was 620,000 tons, but demand for cement declined because of decreased public works. However, as of 2001, the construction sector had expanded, due in part to foreign financing of road construction. Residential and commercial construction was also underway. These construction projects boosted cement production. Several breweries supply both internal demand and surplus for export. Other manufactured products include beer and soft drinks, cigarettes, flour, chocolate, cocoa paste, construction materials, furniture, and shoes.

The $3.7-billion Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, with estimated production at 225,000 barrels per day, was due to be completed in 2004. Although Cameroon's oil production was expected to decline in 2003 (crude oil production was 76,600 barrels per day in 2001, down from 84,000 barrels per day in 2000) as older oil fields become exhausted and fewer new discoveries are made, the position of Kribi as the end point on the pipeline and Cameroon's refinery capacity could turn the nation into a major oil transport center. The government-controlled Sonara (Société Nationale de Raffinage) oil refinery in Limbe produces 42,000 barrels per day. In October 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled in Cameroon's favor in a border dispute with Nigeria over the Bakassi Peninsula. Cameroon now has sovereignty over the peninsula, which is located in the Gulf of Guinea and is believed to contain significant oil reserves. Large-scale exploration and exploitation of the Bakassi reserves is expected to compensate for the decline in Cameroon's other reserves.

Cameroon has great potential for hydroelectric power, and it could become an exporter of electricity. The state-owned electricity utility Sonel (Société Nationale d'Electricité du Cameroun) was being privatized as of 2001. Cameroon has natural gas reserves of approximately 3.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), and known gas fields had yet to be developed by 2003

Cameroon - agriculture

The most important cash crops are cocoa, coffee, cotton, bananas, rubber, palm oil and kernels, and peanuts. The main food crops are plantains, cassava, corn, millet, and sugarcane. Palm oil production has shown signs of strength, but the product is not marketed internationally. Cameroon bananas are sold internationally, and the sector was reorganized and privatized in 1987. Similarly, rubber output has grown in spite of Asian competition. Cameroon is among the world's largest cocoa producers; 130,000 tons of cocoa beans were produced in 2004. Two types of coffee, robusta and arabica, are grown; production was 60,000 tons in 2004. About 85,000 hectares (210,000 acres) are allocated to cotton plantations. Some cotton is exported, while the remainder is processed by local textile plants. Total cotton output was 109,000 tons in 2004. Bananas are grown mainly in the southwest; 2004 estimated production was 630,000 tons. The output of rubber, also grown in the southwest, was 45,892 tons in 2004. Estimated production in 2004 of palm kernels and oil was 64,000 and 1,200,000 tons, respectively. For peanuts (in the shell) the figure was 200,000 tons. Small amounts of tobacco, tea, and pineapples are also grown.


Estimated 2004 production of food crops was as follows: sugarcane, 1,450,000 tons; cassava, 1,950,000 tons; sorghum, 550,000 tons; corn, 750,000 tons; millet, 50,000 tons; yams, 265,000 tons; sweet potatoes, 175,000 tons; potatoes, 135,000 tons; dry beans, 95,000 tons; and rice, 62,000 tons

Cameroon-Geography

At 183,568 sq mi (475,440 km2), Cameroon is the world's 53rd largest country. It is comparable in size to Papua New Guinea, and somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California. Cameroon's landmass is 181,252 sq mi (469,440 km2), with 2,317 sq mi (6,000 km2) of water.

The country is located in Central and West Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.

Cameroon is sometimes described as "Africa in miniature" because it exhibits all the major climates and vegetation of the continent: mountains, desert, rain forest, savanna grassland, and ocean coastland. Cameroon can be divided into five geographic zones. These are distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features.Cameroon: Dam on the River Lom will flood the Pangar-Djerem Wildlife Reserve

A project to build a hydroelectric dam on the River Lom, a few kilometres downstream of its confluence with River Pangar, presented 13 years ago and suspended in 1999, has been resumed in October last year. The Cameroonian government decided to go ahead with the plans of the Lom-Pangar hydroelectric project, which includes a 50 meter high barrage flooding an area of 610 sq.km and a hydroelectric plant of approximately 50 MW. The first step in the process is a new environmental impact study.
A so-called "panel of the independent experts" charged with controlling and evaluating the environmental studies carried out, and to deliver its opinions on the measures, had its first visit to the area to be affected by the dam.
The dam would impact on rivers that are tributaries to Cameroon's River Sanaga, a river basin contributing with over 90 percent of the country's hydroelectric energy, and also would inevitably flood parts of the Pangar-Djerem Wildlife Reserve. The area, which still awaits formal protection by the Cameroonian parliament, would become Cameroon's largest reserve in the bordering area between rainforests in the south and savannah in the north.
The Pangar-Djerem Reserve has already been affected by the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, which runs for 54 kilometres through the proposed reserve. Parts of the reserve had also been impacted heavily by the opening of a rail line running between Belabo and Ngaoundal in 1970, which allowed for encroachment on the area by intruders.
In addition to the physical damage on the landscape and the plant and animal life (chimpanzees, elephants, gorillas, black rhinos, etc.) of one of the world's most undisturbed areas, the dam will affect the societies living in the area, including indigenous people like the Baka and Bakola (commonly called Pygmies) of Cameroon, who will see their life-styles disrupted.
On March 14, 2004, the 7th annual International Day of Action Against Dams and For Rivers, Water and Life was held all over the world, denouncing that “millions of people worldwide are facing serious threats to their livelihoods and cultures due to the construction of large dams. Intended to boost development, these projects have led instead to further impoverishment, degraded environments and human rights violations. An estimated 40-80 million people have been forcibly evicted from their lands to make way for dams. Evidence shows that these people have often been left economically, culturally and psychologically devastated.”

The Lom-Pangar hydroelectric project would have many of those effects and none of the problems it would create can be solved with environmental impact studies, which usually serve the purpose of providing destructive projects with "scientific" backing. Existing experience on large dams is more than sufficient to show that this dam should simply not be built

Freedom movement of Cameroon

The history of Cameroon Independence has been quite fascinating. Though the Portuguese were the first to come to this country in the 1500s they could not settle in Cameroon as malaria prevented him. No European settlement became possible before 1870s. The European sellers became interested in slave trade but it was suppressed largely in the mid 19th century.
Cameroon Independence has a long story as the ruling power changed from time to time. Along with the neighboring countries Cameroon became German colony of Kemarun in 1884. According to the June 28, 1919 League of Nations mandate, this colony was divide between the French and the British after the World War I.

Firstly the struggle for Independence began in the French Cameroon in 1955 when the Union of People of Cameroon began started revolting against the ruling power. Many people were killed in this armed struggle for Cameroon's Independence. In 1961 the French Cameroon gained independence and became the Republic of Cameroon.

The very next year the southern third of British Cameroon voted for joining the Republic of Cameroon while the northern two-thirds voted to join Nigeria. Both the regions maintained their autonomy. Ahmadou Ahidjo became the first president of the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

Cameroon-History

The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were probably the Bakas (Pygmies). They still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces. Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the Fulani, a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel, conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants.
Arrival of the Europeans:
Although the Portuguese arrived on Cameroon's coast in the 1500s, malaria prevented significant European settlement and conquest of the interior until the late 1870s, when large supplies of the malaria suppressant, quinine, became available. The early European presence in Cameroon was primarily devoted to coastal trade and the acquisition of slaves. The northern part of Cameroon was an important part of the Muslim slave trade network. The slave trade was largely suppressed by the mid-19th century. Christian missions established a presence in the late 19th century and continue to play a role in Cameroonian life.
From German Colony to League of Nation Mandates:
Beginning in 1884, all of present-day Cameroon and parts of several of its neighbors became the German colony of Kamerun, with a capital first at Buea and later at Yaounde. After World War I, this colony was partitioned between Britain and France under a June 28, 1919 League of Nations mandate. France gained the larger geographical share, transferred outlying regions to neighboring French colonies, and ruled the rest from Yaounde. Britain's territory--a strip bordering Nigeria from the sea to Lake Chad, with an equal population--was ruled from Lagos.

Cameroon - Africa

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages

Rank of solomon Islands

Rank of Solomon Islands is from poorest is50th and from richest is 156 with national average per capita income using atlas method is 600 as per 2003. and gdp nominal per capita as per IMF in 2007, WB in 2007 and CIA in2008 is

IMF>>>>>>>>>WB>>>>>>>>>>CIA
rank/gdp.........rank/gdp...............rank/gdp
142/741.......138/745...............152/631

Solomon Islands

Geography

A scattered archipelago of about 1,000 mountainous islands and low-lying coral atolls, the Solomon Islands lie east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia in the south Pacific. The islands include Guadalcanal, Malaita, Santa Isabel, San Cristóbal, Choiseul, New Georgia, and the Santa Cruz group.

Government

Parliamentary democracy.

History

It is thought that people have lived in the Solomon Islands since at least 2000 B.C. Explored in 1568 by Alvaro de Mendana of Spain, the Solomons were not visited again for about 200 years. In 1886, Great Britain and Germany divided the islands between them, but later Britain was given control of the entire territory. The Japanese invaded the islands in World War II, and they were the scene of some of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific theater, most famously the battle of Guadalcanal. The British gained control of the island again in 1945. In 1976 the islands became self-governing and gained independence in 1978.
The border with Papua New Guinea (PNG) remained a source of tension in the 1990s. Incursions into Solomon Islands territory by PNG forces, who were countering secessionist action on neighboring Bougainville Island, gave rise to formal protests in mid-1997.
Since early 1999, the Isatabu Freedom Movement, a militia group made up of indigenous Isatabus from Guadalcanal, have expelled more than 20,000 Malaitans from the island. The Malaitans had migrated from nearby Malaita, and many secured jobs in the capital, Honiara, stirring resentment among Isatabus that has grown steadily since independence. In response to the ethnic violence and expulsions, a rival Malaitan militia group was founded, the Malaita Eagle Force. In June 2000, the Malaita Eagle Force stole police weapons, forced Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu to resign, and seized control of Honiara. The rival groups agreed to a cease-fire in June 2000, barely averting a civil war. Although a peace agreement had been signed and elections had taken place, the country continued to suffer from lawlessness. In July 2003, at the request of the prime minister, a 2,250-strong international peacekeeping force led by Australia arrived on the island to restore order, disarm the militias, and expel the “thieves, drunkards, and extortionists” from the notoriously corrupt police force. Australia's intervention was highly successful, and two years after troops had arrived, the country remained relatively stable.
In April 2006 Snyder Rini was appointed prime minister. Rioting and looting followed—many claimed Rini, who had previously served as deputy prime minister, was beholden to Chinese interests. Eight days later he stepped down. The parliament then elected the opposition candidate, Manasseh Sogavare, to the post.
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake and tsunami struck the Solomon Islands in April 2007, killing at least 20 people and destroying villages.

Rank of lesotho

GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate


- Total $3.804 billion[2]

- Per capita $1,959[2]

GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate

- Total $2.453 billion[2]

- Per capita $1,264[2]

Gini (1995) 63.2 (very high)

HDI (2010) 0.427[3] (low) (141st). Rank Lesotho from the poorest is 49th and from the richest is 157th. Its National Average per capita Income using Atlas method as on 2003 is 590 slightly above that of India. and gdp nominal per capita income as per IMF in 2007, Wb in 2007 and CIA in 2008 is IMF>>>>>>>>>>>>WB>>>>>>>>>CIA RANK/ gdp>>>>>Rank/gdp>>>>>>rank/gdp 151/664................136/ 798............146/753.

(video) Culture of Lesotho

Traditional musical instruments include lekolulo, a kind of flute used by herding boys, setolo-tolo, played by men using their mouth, and the woman's stringed thomo.

The national anthem of Lesotho is "Lesotho Fatše La Bo-ntata Rona", which literally translates into "Lesotho, Land Of Our Fore-Fathers".

The traditional style of housing in Lesotho is called a mokhoro. Many older houses, especially in smaller towns and villages, are of this type, with walls usually constructed from large stones cemented together. Baked mud bricks and especially concrete blocks are also used nowadays, with thatched roofs still common, although often replaced by corrugated roofing sheets.

Traditional attire revolves around the Basotho blanket, a thick covering made primarily of wool. The blankets are ubiquitous throughout the country during all seasons, and worn differently for men and women.

The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival is a prominent Sesotho arts and music festival. It is held annually in the historical town of Morija, where the first missionaries arrived in 1833.

Education and culture of lesotho

Lesotho Culture and Education

Culture
Traditional musical instruments include lekolulo, a kind of flute used by herding boys, setolo-tolo, played by men using their mouth, and the woman's stringed thomo. The national anthem of Lesotho is "Lesotho Fatše La Bo-ntata Rona", which literally translates into "Lesotho, Land Of Our Fathers".The traditional style of housing in Lesotho is called a rondavel. Attire revolves around the Basotho blanket, a thick covering made primarily of wool. The blankets are ubiquitous throughout the country during all seasons. The Morija Arts & Cultural Festival is a prominent Sesotho arts and music festival. It is held annually in the historical town of Morija, where the first missionaries arrived in 1833.
Lesotho Education and Training
As a key sector that leads to a more employable and productive workforce able to compete locally and regionally, the education sector receives a significant share of recurrent expenditure proposals.
A renewed strategic plan has focused on consolidating areas in the education sector that require refinement, allowing for growth in student numbers for further education, as well as a reduction in pupil/teacher ratios. Emphasis is being placed on the improvement of quality, efficiency and effectiveness, with the aspiration of addressing access remaining valid. The target is ultimately to achieve universal primary education and to improve access to early secondary education, at the same time securing high quality and performance standards.
Education Policy
Management of the schools is largely in the hands of the main missions, while determination of curricula and syllabuses is the responsibility of the Minister of Education. Syllabuses and educational materials are developed through the National Curriculum Development Centre in conjunction with subject panels on which teachers are represented. Administration and management of schools is to be improved through ongoing training of advisory' school committees, school boards and management committees. Policy objectives and activities that cut across all education programmes aim to consolidate and bring about effective coordination of the diverse efforts of various bodies concerned. Ongoing revision and implementation take place. An improved education management system has been de- signed and is currently being implemented, pro viding the ratios at primary school level remaining high. Education programmes aim to reflect Lesotho's development requirements, and policy directions include provision of the following:
Opportunities to develop competencies and education programmes, cultural values and activities that enhance individual and social development
Sufficient numbers of individuals equipped with the appropriate occupational, technical and managerial skills to enable them to participate in socioeconomic development
Opportunities for continuing education through non-formal programmes in literacy and numeracy, and vocational and in-service training in private enterprises
Active, cooperative partnership between all parties concerned in education management and service provision, with expansion of the roles of family and community in school activities
Enhanced access to education
Schools of high educational standard at primary, secondary and high school level are available throughout the country, with Maseru boasting several well-established international schools. As a cosmopolitan country Lesotho has children of all nationalities, and these are able to receive a secondary education in Maseru up to entrance level for universities in their home countries. Teaching is initially in Sesotho, but English is the medium of instruction used in the upper classes of primary schools and in secondary schools. In contrast with many other developing countries, female participation in education in Lesotho has been much higher than that of males. Much has been achieved in the past year, with further high schools completed, vocational and technical centers expanded, and equipment procured for workshops and libraries. The programme of construction and furnishing of schools, laboratories, and resource centers is ongoing at all levels.
Universal Primary Education
Through the provision of quality primary education, Lesotho is intent on improving the low level of skills of persons entering the workforce each year. The current primary school curriculum is being revised and reviewed and practical orientation in the teaching of core subjects is encouraged. Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 13, with fee elimination to be implemented in phases, starting with Standard One at the beginning of school terms in 2000. The government also intends to pilot a scholarship programme for children from needy families.
Higher education
The principal goal of higher education in Lesotho is the provision of basic training, leading to improved production of high level manpower.
Education and literacy
An estimated 85 percent of the population 15 and over was literate, according to recent estimates. As such, Lesotho boasts one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. Contrary to most countries, in Lesotho female literacy (94.5%) is higher than male literacy. According to a study by the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality in 2000, 37 percent of grade 6 pupils in Lesotho (average age 14 years) are at or above reading level 4, "Reading for Meaning". At this level of literacy, a pupil can read on or reads back in order to link and interpret information located in various parts of the text. Although education is not compulsory, the Government of Lesotho is incrementally implementing a program for free primary education.

Politics of Lesotho

Politics of Lesotho takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the Prime Minister of Lesotho is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of Parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature
The National Assembly of Lesotho is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament.

e • d Results of the 26 May 2012 National Assembly of Lesotho elections

Party	Votes	%	Seats			+/–
			Constituency	PR	Total
Democratic Congress (DC)	218,366	39.58	41	7	48	New
All Basotho Convention (ABC)	138,917	25.18	26	4	30	13
Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD)	121,076	21.94	12	14	26	36
Basotho National Party (BNP)	23,788	4.31	0	5	5	2
Popular Front for Democracy (PFD)	11,166	2.02	1	2	3	2
National Independent Party (NIP)	6,880	1.25	0	2	2	19
Lesotho Peoples' Congress (LPC)	5,021	0.91	0	1	1
Basotho Democratic National Party (BDNP)	3,433	0.62	0	1	1
Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP)	3,300	0.60	0	1	1
Basotho Congress Party (BCP)	2,531	0.46	0	1	1
Basotho Batho Democratic Party (BBDP)	2,440	0.44	0	1	1
Lesotho Workers' Party (LWP)	2,408	0.44	0	1	1	9
All Democratic Corporation (ADC)	1,933	0.35	0	0	0
Lekhotla La Mekhoa le Moetlo (LMM)	1,691	0.31	0	0	0
Areka Covenant Front for Development (ACFD)	1,227	0.22	0	0	0
Sankatana Social Democratic Party (SSDP)	1,081	0.20	0	0	0
African Unity Movement (AUM)	714	0.13	0	0	0
White Horse Party (WHP)	252	0.05	0	0	0
Independents	5,502	1.00	0	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	12,725	–	–	–	–	–
Total	564,451	100.00	80	40	120
Registered voters/turnout	1,127,980	50.04	–	–	–	–