from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Swaziland
Introduction
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.
Geography
Location: Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa
Geographic 26 30 S, 31 30 E
coordinates:
Map Africa
references:
Area: total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km
water: 160 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than New Jersey
comparative:
Land total: 535 km
boundaries: border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430
km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime none (landlocked)
claims:
Climate: varies from tropical to near temperate
Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping
plains
Elevation lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
extremes: highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m
Natural asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests,
resources: small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Land use: arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81%
other: 88.94% (2005)
Irrigated 500 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural drought
hazards:
Environment - limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations
current being depleted because of excessive hunting;
issues: overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
Environment - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change,
international Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer
agreements: Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South
note: Africa
People
Population: 1,136,334
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 2006
est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40.7% (male 233,169/female 229,103)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 303,260/female 330,460)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 16,071/female 24,271)
(2006 est.)
Median age: total: 18.5 years
male: 17.8 years
female: 19.2 years (2006 est.)
Population -0.23% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 27.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 29.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 71.85 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 75.25 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 68.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 32.62 years
expectancy at male: 32.1 years
birth: female: 33.17 years (2006 est.)
Total 3.53 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 38.8% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 220,000 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 17,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Nationality: noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi
Ethnic groups: African 97%, European 3%
Religions: Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous
ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%,
Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other
30%
Languages: English (official, government business conducted in
English), siSwati (official)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6%
male: 82.6%
female: 80.8% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland
local long form: Umbuso weSwatini
local short form: eSwatini
Government monarchy
type:
Capital: name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)
Administrative 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
divisions:
Independence: 6 September 1968 (from UK)
National Independence Day, 6 September (1968)
holiday:
Constitution: the first constitution was signed into law in July 2005
and is scheduled to be implemented in January 2006
Legal system: based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory
courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in
traditional courts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age
Executive chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
branch: 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
Legislative bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body,
branch: 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 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
Judicial High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are
branch: appointed by the monarch
Political political parties are banned by the government under an
parties and emergency decree that will be revoked when the new
leaders: constitution takes effect (January 2006)- the following
are considered political associations; Imbokodvo
National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory
Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's
United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU,
president]
Political NA
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
organization ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC,
participation: ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU,
SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
representation chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002
FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Lewis LUCKE
representation embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street,
from the US: Mbabane
mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane
telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445
FAX: [268] 404-5959
Flag three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple
description: 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
Economy
Economy - In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence
overview: 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 two-thirds 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 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly
two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by
HIV/AIDS.
GDP $5.68 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $2.117 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 1.8% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $5,000 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 11.9%
composition by industry: 51.5%
sector: services: 36.6% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 155,700 (2003)
Labor force - agriculture: NA%
by occupation: industry: NA%
services: NA%
Unemployment 40% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population 69% (2005)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 1%
income or highest 10%: 50.2% (1995)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Inflation rate 4% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 10.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $805.6 million
expenditures: $957.1 million; including capital
expenditures of $147 million (2005 est.)
Agriculture - sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus,
products: pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Industries: mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft
drink concentrates, textile and apparel
Industrial 3.7% (FY95/96)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 392 million kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 58%
production by hydro: 42%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 1.161 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2004)
exports:
Electricity - 821.4 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South
imports: Africa (2004)
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
production:
Oil - 3,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Current $7 million (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $1.991 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn,
commodities: refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
Exports - South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2%
partners: (2004)
Imports: $2.149 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment,
commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3%
partners: (2004)
Reserves of $311 million (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $357 million (2003 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $104 million (2001)
recipient:
Currency lilangeni (SZL)
(code):
Currency code: SZL
Exchange emalangeni per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597
rates: (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications
Telephones - 35,000 (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 200,000 (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an
system: advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped,
open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay
international: country code - 268; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 170,000 (1999)
Television 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 23,000 (2000)
Internet .sz
country code:
Internet 2,472 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 5 (2002)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 36,000 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 18 (2006)
Airports - total: 1
with paved 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006)
runways:
Airports - total: 17
with unpaved 914 to 1,523 m: 7
runways: under 914 m: 10 (2006)
Railways: total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2005)
Roadways: total: 3,594 km
paved: 1,078 km
unpaved: 2,516 km (2002)
Military
Military Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force
branches: (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force
(RSPF) (2005)
Military 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; both
service age sexes are eligible for military service (2005)
and
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 227,617 (2005 est.)
available for
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 89,609 (2005 est.)
for military
service:
Military $41.6 million (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 1.4% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - none
international: