Swaziland

§1. 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.

§2. Swaziland Geography

Location:
  Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa

Geographic coordinates:
  26 30 S, 31 30 E

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 17,363 km²
  land: 17,203 km²
  water: 160 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries:
  total: 535 km
  border countries: 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
  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: 10.25%
  permanent crops: 0.81%
  other: 88.94% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  690 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  drought

Environment - current issues:
  limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted
  because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
    Species, Ozone Layer Protection
  signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
  landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa

§3. Swaziland 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 growth rate:
  -0.23% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  27.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  29.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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 mortality rate:
  total: 71.85 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 75.25 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 68.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 32.62 years
  male: 32.1 years
  female: 33.17 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  3.53 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  38.8% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  220,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  17,000 (2003 est.)

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.)

§4. Swaziland Government

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:
  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 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

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
    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 government under an emergency decree
  that will be revoked when the new constitution takes effect (January 2006)-
  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]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
  chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009
  telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002
  FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Lewis LUCKE
  embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane
  mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane
  telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445
  FAX: [268] 404-5959

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

§5. Swaziland Economy

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 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 (purchasing power parity):
  $6.222 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $2.044 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  1.8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $5,500 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 15.1%
  industry: 49.7%
  services: 35.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  155,700 (2003)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate:
  40% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  69% (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 1%
  highest 10%: 50.2% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  4% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  10.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $805.6 million
  expenditures: $957.1 million; including capital expenditures of $147
    million (2005 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  3.7% (FY95/96)

Electricity - production:
  392 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  1.161 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  821.4 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  3,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
  $-142.4 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $1.991 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators,
  citrus and canned fruit

Exports - partners:
  South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004)

Imports:
  $2.149 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum
  products, chemicals

Imports - partners:
  South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $357.2 million (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $357 million (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $104 million (2001)

Currency (code):
  lilangeni (SZL)

Exchange rates:
  emalangeni per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003),
  10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. Swaziland Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  46,200 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  113,000 (2004)

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: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
    (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
  12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004)

Internet country code:
  .sz

Internet hosts:
  2,401 (2005)

Internet users:
  36,000 (2005)

§7. Swaziland Transportation

Airports:
  18 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 1
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 17
  914 to 1,523 m: 7
  under 914 m: 10 (2005)

Railways:
  total: 301 km
  narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 3,594 km
  paved: 1,078 km
  unpaved: 2,516 km (2002)

Merchant marine:
  registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2005)

§8. Swaziland Military

Military branches:
  Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing),
    Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
  18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; both sexes are eligible
  for military service (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 248,676 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 98,530 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $41.6 million (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.4% (2005 est.)

§9. Swaziland Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none


<Factbook 2006>
