Background: 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.

Geographic coordinates: 26 30 S 31 30 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 17,363 km²
Water: 160 km²
Land: 17,203 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 535 km
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 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 use
Arable land: 9.77%
Permanent crops: 0.7%
Other: 89.53% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 690 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: drought

Geography
Note: landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa

Population
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 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 0.83% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: 40% (1995)

Nationality
Noun: Swazi
Adjective: Swazi

Ethnic groups: African 97% European 3%

Languages: English (official government business conducted in English) siSwati (official)

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 41.4% (male 242,762; female 238,141)
15-64 years: 55.1% (male 317,526; female 321,709)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 18,040; female 23,041) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 18.5 years
Male: 18.2 years
Female: 18.8 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 0.83% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 29.37 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 21.08 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

Environment
Current 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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 67.44 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 63.99 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 70.79 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 39.47 years
Male: 41.02 years
Female: 37.87 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.92 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 33.4% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 170,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 12,000 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 81.6%
Male: 82.6%
Female: 80.8% (2003 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
Conventional short form: Swaziland

Government type: monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth

Capital: Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital

Administrative divisions: 4 districts; Hhohho Lubombo Manzini Shiselweni

Independence: 6 September 1968 (from UK)

National holiday: 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 was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) but so far none have been accepted

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age

Executive branch
Chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
Head of government: Prime Minister 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 branch
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

Judicial branch: High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch

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]

International organization participation: ACP AfDB C ECA FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF Interpol IOC ISO (correspondent) ITU NAM OAU OPCW PCA SACU SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
In the us fax: [1] (202) 244-8,059
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 362-6,683
In the us chancery: 3,400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
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] 404-6,441 through 404-6,445
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

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 nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than 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 2002 because of drought and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS.

Real gdp growth rate: 1.6% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 17%
Industry: 44%
Services: 39% (2001 est.)

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

Industries: mining (coal) wood pulp sugar soft drink concentrates textile and apparel

Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (FY 95/96)

Labor force: 383,200 (2000)
By occupation: NA

Unemployment rate: 34% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: 40% (1995)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1%
Highest 10: 50.2% (1995)

Budget
Revenues: $448 million
Expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY 01/02)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.8% (2002 est.)

Exports: $820 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: soft drink concentrates sugar wood pulp cotton yarn refrigerators citrus and canned fruit
Partners: South Africa 72% EU 14.2% Mozambique 3.7% US 3.5% UK (1999)

Imports: $938 million f.o.b. (2002)
Commodities: motor vehicles machinery transport equipment foodstuffs petroleum products chemicals
Partners: South Africa 88.8% EU 5.6% Japan 0.6% Singapore 0.4% (1999)

Debt external: $320 million (2002 est.)

Exchange rates: emalangeni per US dollar - 10.54 (2002) 8.61 (2001) 6.94 (2000) 6.11 (1999) 5.53 (1998)

Electricity
Production: 348.3 million kWh (2001)
Production by source fossil fuel: 58%
Production by source hydro: 42%
Production by source other: 0% (2001)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 962.9 million kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 639 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 38,500 (2001)
Mobile cellular: 45,000 (2001)

Telephone system
General assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
Domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay
International: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Internet
Country code: .sz
Service providers isps: 5 (2002)
Users: 7,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $20 million (FY01)
Percent of gdp: 4.75% (FY00)

Airports: 18 (2002)
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 17
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 10 (2002)

Railways
Total: 301 km
Narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2002)

Waterways: none

Disputes international: none