Map of Swaziland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 King MSWATI III Africa's last absolute monarch to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. A constitution came into effect in 2006 but the legal status of political parties remains unclear. The African United Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully to register as an official political party in mid 2006. Talks over the constitution broke down between the government and progressive groups in 2007. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.


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Location: Southern Africa between Mozambique and South Africa

Geographic coordinates: 26 30 S 31 30 E

Map reference

Area
Rank: 159
Land: 17,204 km²
Water: 160 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries
Border countries: (2) Mozambique 105 km; South Africa 430 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: varies from tropical to near temperate

Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains

Elevation
Extremes highest point: Emlembe 1862 m

Natural resources: asbestos coal clay cassiterite hydropower forests small gold and diamond deposits quarry stone and talc

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.86%
Other: 89.06% (2011)

Irrigated land: 498.5 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 4.51 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: drought

Geography
Note: landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa


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Population: 1,403,362 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 155
Growth rate: 1.17% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 99
Below poverty line: 69% (2006)

Nationality
Adjective: Swazi

Ethnic groups: African 97% European 3%

Languages: English (official used for government business) siSwati (official)

Religions: Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) Roman Catholic 20% Muslim 10% other (includes Anglican Baha'i Methodist Mormon Jewish) 30%

Demographic profile

Age structure
15-24 years: 22.4% (male 158,947/female 155,421)
25-54 years: 32.7% (male 234,805/female 224,703)
55-64 years: 4.2% (male 23,287/female 35,900)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 21,042/female 31,159) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 64.4 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.9 %
Potential support ratio: 16.8 (2013)

Median age
Male: 20.4 years
Female: 21.1 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.17% (2013 est.)
Rank: 99

Birth rate: 25.68 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 54

Death rate: 13.95 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 11

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 108

Population distribution

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 1.19% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: MBABANE (capital) 74,000 (2009)

Environment
Current issues: limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.65 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 19.5 (2007 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 32
Male: 61.21 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 53.04 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 220
Male: 50.44 years
Female: 49.56 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.96 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 61

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 65.2% (2010)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.17 physicians/1000 population (2009)

Hospital bed density: 2.1 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 25.9% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 1
People living with hivaids: 180,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 28
Deaths: 7,000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 31

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: malaria
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2013)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 19.7% (2008)
Rank: 98

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 6.1% (2007)
Rank: 81

Education expenditures: 8.2% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 11

Literacy
Total population: 87.8%
Male: 88.4%
Female: 87.3% (2011 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 12 years
Female: 11 years (2011)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional short form: Swaziland
Local long form: Umbuso weSwatini
Local short form: eSwatini

Government type: monarchy

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 26 19 S 31 08 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 4 districts; Hhohho Lubombo Manzini Shiselweni

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 September 1968 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 6 September (1968)

Constitution: previous 1968 1978; latest signed by the king 26 July 2005 effective 8 February 2006 (2013)

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil common and customary law

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age

Executive branch
Head of government: Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso DLAMINI (since 23 October 2008); Deputy Prime Minister Themba Nhlanganiso MASUKU (since 2008)
Cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch
Elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among the elected members of the House of Assembly

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members elected by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members to serve five-year terms)
Elections: House of Assembly - last held on 19 September 2008 (next to be held on 20 September 2013)
Election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election 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: note - the national constitution as amended in 2006 shifted judicial power from the monarch and vested it exclusively in the judiciary
Judge selection and term of office: justices of the Supreme Court of the Judicature are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission or JCS a judicial advisory body consisting of the Supreme Court Chief Justice 4 members appointed by the monarch and the JCS head; justices of both courts eligible for retirement at age 65 with mandatory retirement at age 75 for Supreme Court justices and at age 70 for High Court justices
Subordinate courts: magistrates' courts; National Swazi Courts for administering customary/traditional law (jurisdiction restricted to customary law for Swazi citizens)

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP AfDB AU C COMESA FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ISO (correspondent) ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM OPCW PCA SACU SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 234-5,002
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 234-8,254
From the us embassy: 7th Floor Central Bank Building Mahlokohla St. Mbabane
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 199 Mbabane
From the us telephone: [268] 404-6,441
From the us FAX: [268] 404-5,959

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; blue stands for peace and stability red represents past struggles and yellow the mineral resources of the country; the shield spears and staff symbolize protection from the country's enemies while the black and white of the shield are meant to portray black and white people living in peaceful coexistence

National symbols: lion; elephant

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Andrease Enoke Fanyana SIMELANE/David Kenneth RYCROFT

National heritage


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Economy overview: Surrounded by South Africa except for a short border with Mozambique Swaziland depends heavily on South Africa from which it receives more than 90% of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand effectively subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. The government is heavily dependent on customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and worker remittances from South Africa supplement domestically earned income. Subsistence agriculture employs approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp were major foreign exchange earners; however the wood pulp producer closed in January 2010 and sugar is now the main export earner. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Customs revenues plummeted due to the global economic crisis and a drop in South African imports. The resulting decline in revenue has pushed the country into a fiscal crisis. Swaziland is looking to other countries including South Africa for assistance but continues to struggle to meet its monthly payroll and fund government programs. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate Swaziland''s need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and attract foreign direct investment is acute. Overgrazing soil depletion drought and floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought and more than one-quarter of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 164

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 202

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 152

Gross national saving:
Rank: 110

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 20%
Investment in fixed capital: 11.9%
Investment in inventories: 0%
Exports of goods and services: 59.3%
Imports of goods and services: -71.2%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 47.9%
Services: 44.6% (2012 est.)

Agriculture products: sugarcane cotton corn tobacco rice citrus pineapples sorghum peanuts; cattle goats sheep

Industries: coal wood pulp sugar soft drink concentrates textiles and apparel

Industrial production growth rate: -1.1% (2012 est.)
Rank: 148

Labor force: 424,100 (2011 est.)
Rank: 159
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 40% (2006 est.)
Rank: 188

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 69% (2006)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 40.1% (2010 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index: 50.4 (2001)
Rank: 20

Budget
Expenditures: $1.438 billion (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 0.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 41

Taxes and other revenues: 39.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 51

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.1% (2011 est.)
Rank: 191

Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 45

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 9% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 101

Stock of narrow money: $355.1 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 164

Stock of broad money: $1.087 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 168

Stock of domestic credit: $948.6 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 158

Market value of publicly traded shares: $200 million (31 December 2006)
Rank: 113

Current account balance: $-201 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 55

Exports: $1.906 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 143
Commodities: soft drink concentrates sugar wood pulp cotton yarn refrigerators citrus and canned fruit

Imports: $1.95 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 172
Commodities: motor vehicles machinery transport equipment foodstuffs petroleum products chemicals

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $600.5 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 143

Debt external: $604.5 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 172

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $N/A

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $N/A

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 496 million kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 164
Consumption: 1.058 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 149
Exports: 0 kWh (2012)
Exports rank: 150
Imports: 564 million kWh (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 75
Installed generating capacity: 149,000 kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 162
Generation sources fossil fuels: 59.7% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 135
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 206
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 40.3% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 59
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 142

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 147
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 208
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 144
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2010 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 206

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 146
Products consumption: 4,567 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 171
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 145
Products imports: 4,761 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 156

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 211
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 211
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 209
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 81
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 208

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 1.024 million Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 167

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 48,600 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 164
Mobile cellular: 805,000 (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 160

Telephone system
Domestic: single source for mobile-cellular service with a geographic coverage of about 90% and a rising subscribership base; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity roughly 60 telephones per 100 persons in 2011; telephone 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) (2009)

Broadcast media: state-owned TV station; satellite dishes are able to access South African providers; state-owned radio network with 3 channels; 1 private radio station (2007)

Internet
Country code: .sz
Hosts: 2,744 (2012)
Hosts rank: 158
Users: 90,100 (2009)
Users rank: 162

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 2.6% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 48

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; compulsory HIV testing required only HIV-negative applicants accepted (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 14 (2013)
Rank: 149
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways: 7 (2013)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Rank: 120
Narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 160
Paved: 1078 km
Unpaved: 2,516 km (2002)

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: in 2006 Swazi king advocated resorting to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs