Statistical information Swaziland 1998

Swaziland in the World
top of pageBackground: Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy.
top of pageLocation: Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa
Geographic coordinates: 26 30 S, 31 30 E
Map reference:
AfricaAreaTotal: 17,360 km²
Land: 17,200 km²
Water: 160 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundariesTotal: 535 km
Border countries: (2) Mozambique 105 km;
, South Africa 430 kmCoastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: varies from tropical to near temperate
Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
ElevationExtremes lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
Extremes highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m
Natural resources: asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Land useArable land: 11%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 62%
Forests and woodland: 7%
Other: 20% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 670 km² (1993 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: NA
GeographyNote: landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
top of pagePopulation: 966,462 (July 1998 est.)
Growth rate: 1.96% (1998 est.)
NationalityNoun: Swazi(s)
Adjective: Swazi
Ethnic groups: African 97%, European 3%
Languages: English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
Religions: Christian 60%, indigenous beliefs 40%
Demographic profileAge structure0-14 years: 46% (male 223,649; female 224,782)
15-64 years: 51% (male 238,547; female 255,137)
65 years and over: 3% (male 9,625; female 14,722) (July 1998 est.)
Dependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: 1.96% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 41 births/1000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 21.4 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea
Air pollutantsSex ratioAt birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Mothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 103.37 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 38.53 years
Male:37.31 years
Female: 39.79 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.96 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracyDefinition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 76.7%
Male:78%
Female: 75.6% (1995 est.)
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
Conventional short form: Swaziland
Government type: monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth
Capital: Mbabane (administrative; Lobamba (legislative)
Administrative divisions: 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
Dependent areasIndependence: 6 September 1968 (from UK)
National holiday: Somhlolo (Independence) Day, 6 September (1968)
Constitution: none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but has not been formally presented to the people
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
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: NA; note_no suffrage before September 1993; 55 of the 65 seats in the House of Assembly were filled by popular vote in the elections of September and October 1993; of a population of less than 1 million, the electorate numbered 283,693
Executive branchChief of state:King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of
Government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996)
Cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the king
Elections: none; the king is a hereditary monarch; prime minister appointed by the king
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (20 seats, 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 10 appointed by the king; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats, 10 appointed by the king and 55 elected by secret, popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
Elections: House of Assembly_last held 26 September and 11 October 1993 (next to be held NA 1998)
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 branch: High Court, judges are appointed by the king; Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the king
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representationIn the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
In the us chancery: Suite 3M, 3,400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 362-6,683
In the us fax: [1] (202) 244-8,059
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Alan R. McKEE
From the us embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane
From the us telephone: [268] 46,441 through 46,445
From the us fax: [268] 45,959
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
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 60% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978, and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nearly 90% of its imports and to which it sends more than half of its exports. Remittances from Swazi workers in South African mines supplement domestically earned income by as much as 20%. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, and drought persist as problems for the future.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate: 3% (19,976 est.)
Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $3,800 (1997 est.)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture: 10%
Industry: 42%
Services: 48% (1997 est.)
Agriculture products: sugarcane, cotton, maize, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, corn, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Industries: mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates
Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (FY95/96)
Labor forceTotal: 135,000 (1996)
By occupation private sectorabout: 70%
By occupation publicsectorabout: 30%
Unemployment rate: 22% (1995 est.)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetRevenues: $400 million
Expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: 1 April_31 March
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: total value:$893 million (f.o.b., 1996)
Commodoties: soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn (1995)
Partners: South Africa 58%, EU 20%, Mozambique 6% (1994)
Imports: total value:$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
Commodoties: motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals (1995)
Partners: South Africa 88%, Japan, UK, US (FY94/95)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $194 million (1995)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: emalangeni (E) per US$1_4.9417 (January 1998), 4.5998 (1997), 4.2706 (1996), 3.6266 (1995), 3.5490 (1994), 3.2636 (1993; note_the Swazi emalangeni are at par with the South African rand
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 130,000 kW (1995)
Production: 407 million kWh (1995)
Production note: imports 60% of its electricity from South Africa
Consumption per capita: 1,062 kWh (1995)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephones: 30,364 (1993 est.)
Telephone systemDomestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay
International: satellite earth station_1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Broadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $22 million (FY93/94)
Percent of gdp: NA%
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 18 (1997 est.)
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (1997 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 17
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 10 (1997 est.)
HeliportsPipelinesRailwaysTotal: 297 km; note_includes 71 km which are not in use
Narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge
RoadwaysWaterwaysMerchant marinePorts and terminalstop of pageDisputes international: Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs