 Definition  Field Listing  Rank
Order
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Background: |
Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was
guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was
granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured
the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly
allow political reform and greater democracy. Swaziland recently
surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known
rates of HIV/AIDS infection Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Location: |
Southern
Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
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Geographic coordinates: |
26 30 S, 31
30 E |
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Map references: |
Africa
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Area: |
total:
17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km
water: 160 sq
km |
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Area - comparative: |
slightly
smaller than New Jersey |
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Land boundaries: |
total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105
km, South Africa 430 km |
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Coastline: |
0 km
(landlocked) |
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Maritime claims: |
none
(landlocked) |
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Climate: |
varies from
tropical to near temperate |
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Terrain: |
mostly
mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest
point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe
1,862 m |
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Natural resources: |
asbestos,
coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond
deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
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Land use: |
arable
land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7%
other:
88.95% (2001) |
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Irrigated land: |
690 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards: |
drought
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Environment - current issues: |
limited
supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted
because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil
erosion |
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Environment - international agreements: |
party
to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
Law of the Sea |
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Geography - note: |
landlocked;
almost completely surrounded by South Africa Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Population: |
1,169,241
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
2004 est.) |
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Age structure: |
0-14
years: 41% (male 242,090; female 237,395)
15-64
years: 55.3% (male 323,004; female 324,029)
65 years and
over: 3.7% (male 18,685; female 24,038) (2004 est.) |
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Median age: |
total: 18.6 years
male: 18.4 years
female: 18.8 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate: |
0.55% (2004
est.) |
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Birth rate: |
28.55
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate: |
23.06
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio: |
at
birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02
male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65
years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population:
1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate: |
total:
68.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 71.64 deaths/1,000
live births
female: 64.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2004
est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 37.54 years
male: 39.1 years
female: 35.94 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate: |
3.81 children
born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
38.8% (2003
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
220,000 (2003
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
17,000 (2003
est.) |
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Nationality: |
noun:
Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
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Ethnic groups: |
African 97%,
European 3% |
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Religions: |
Zionist (a
blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman
Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish
and other 30% |
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Languages: |
English
(official, government business conducted in English), siSwati
(official) |
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Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6%
male: 82.6%
female: 80.8% (2003 est.) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Country name: |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
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Government type: |
monarchy;
independent member of Commonwealth |
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Capital: |
Mbabane;
note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
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Administrative divisions: |
4 districts;
Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
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Independence: |
6 September
1968 (from UK) |
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National holiday: |
Independence
Day, 6 September (1968) |
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Constitution: |
a
constitution was adopted 14 November 2003 |
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Legal system: |
based on
South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi
traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage: |
18 years of
age |
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Executive branch: |
chief of
state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of
government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14
November 2003)
cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime
minister and confirmed by the monarch
elections: none;
the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch
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Legislative branch: |
bicameral
Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30
seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by
the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of
Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by
popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections:
House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held NA
October 2008)
election results: House of Assembly -
balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are
nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each
constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first
round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round
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Judicial branch: |
High Court;
Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch
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Political parties and leaders: |
political
parties are banned by the constitution - the following are
considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement or
INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed
DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO
[Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO
[Elmond SHONGWE, president] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
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International organization participation: |
ACP, AfDB,
AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA,
SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery:
3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683
FAX: [1] (202)
244-8059 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central
Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane
mailing address: P.
O. Box 199, Mbabane
telephone: [268] 404-6441 through
404-6445
FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
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Flag description: |
three
horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the
red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large
black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated
with feather tassels, all placed horizontally Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Economy - overview: |
In this
small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more
than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified
since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign
exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years
with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded
by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique,
Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it
receives about nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends
nearly three-quarters of its exports. Customs duties from the
Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South
Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The
government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign
investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes
floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of
the population needed emergency food aid in 2002 because of drought,
and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by
HIV/AIDS. |
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GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $5.702 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
2.2% (2003
est.) |
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GDP - per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $4,900 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 16.2%
industry: 43.2%
services: 40.5% (2003 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed): |
21.1% of GDP
(2003) |
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Population below poverty line: |
40% (1995)
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Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest
10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
7.3% (2003
est.) |
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Labor force: |
383,200
(2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation: |
NA |
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Unemployment rate: |
34% (2000
est.) |
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Budget: |
revenues: $462.4 million
expenditures: $563.4
million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2003)
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Agriculture - products: |
sugarcane,
cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts;
cattle, goats, sheep |
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Industries: |
mining
(coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and
apparel |
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Industrial production growth rate: |
3.7%
(FY95/96) |
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Electricity - production: |
348.3 million
kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - consumption: |
962.9 million
kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2001)
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Electricity - imports: |
639 million
kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
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Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption: |
3,500 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports: |
NA (2001)
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Oil - imports: |
NA (2001)
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Current account balance: |
$-72.69
million (2003) |
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Exports: |
$905.6
million f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities: |
soft drink
concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus
and canned fruit |
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Exports - partners: |
South Africa
72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5% (1999) |
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Imports: |
$1.088
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities: |
motor
vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum
products, chemicals |
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Imports - partners: |
South Africa
88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: |
$277.5
million (2003) |
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Debt - external: |
$320 million
(2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient: |
$104 million
(2001) |
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Currency: |
lilangeni
(SZL) |
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Currency code: |
SZL |
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Exchange rates: |
emalangeni
per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398
(2000), 6.1095 (1999) |
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Fiscal year: |
1 April - 31
March Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Disputes - international: |
none
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Large portions of this information is from the US government open source publication "The World Factbook", other content copyright © Stratus-Pikpuk, Inc. You may use this information without permission for educational or other non-profit purposes if you refer to us as the source, contact us if you want to use this commercially.
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