1.
[syn: Swaziland, Kingdom of Swaziland]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Swaziland
n 1: a landlocked monarchy in southeastern Africa; member of the
commonwealth that achieved independence from the United
Kingdom in 1968 [syn: Swaziland, Kingdom of Swaziland]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Swaziland
Introduction Swaziland
----------------------
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.
Geography Swaziland
-------------------
Location: Southern Africa, between Mozambique
and South Africa
Geographic coordinates: 26 30 S, 31 30 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 17,363 sq km
water: 160 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km
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: 9.77%
permanent crops: 0.7%
other: 89.53% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 690 sq km (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 party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: landlocked; almost completely
surrounded by South Africa
People Swaziland
----------------
Population: 1,123,605
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 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45.5% (male 254,573;
female 256,677)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645;
female 301,071)
65 years and over: 2.6% (male
12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.63% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 109.43 deaths/1,000 live births
(2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 37 years
female: 37.66 years (2002 est.)
male: 36.35 years
Total fertility rate: 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 35.6% (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 212,000 (2002 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 7,100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi
Ethnic groups: African 97%, European 3%
Religions: Zionist (a blend of Christianity and
indigenous ancestral worship) 40%,
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: 78.3%
male: 78%
female: 78.4% (1999 est.)
Government Swaziland
--------------------
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
Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9
August 1996)
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 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to
be held NA 2003)
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
Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed
DLAMINI, president]; People's United
Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario
MASUKU, president]; Swaziland
National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond
SHONGWE, president]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77,
participation: 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, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mary
Madzandza KANYA
FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254
telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20009
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador James
US: D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building,
Warner 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
Economy Swaziland
-----------------
Economy - overview: In this small landlocked economy,
subsistence agriculture occupies
more than 80% of the population.
Manufacturing features a number of
agroprocessing factories. Mining has
declined in importance in recent
years: diamond mines have shut down
because of the depletion of easily
accessible reserves; 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 nine-tenths
of its imports and to which it sends
more than two-thirds of its exports.
Remittances from the Southern
African Customs Union and Swazi
workers in South African mines
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.
Prospects for 2002 are strengthened
by the country's status as a
beneficiary of the US African Growth
and Opportunity Act initiative.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.6
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,200
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%
industry: 43%
services: 47% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force - by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: 34% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million,
including capital expenditures of
$147 million (FY01/02)
Industries: mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar,
soft drink concentrates, textile and
apparel
Industrial production growth rate: 3.7% (FY95/96)
Electricity - production: 362 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 55.8%
other: 0% (2000)
hydro: 44.2%
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 900.66 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 564 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa
(2000)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco,
rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum,
peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Exports: $702 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood
pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators,
citrus and canned fruit
Exports - partners: South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%,
Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999)
Imports: $850 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: motor vehicles, machinery, transport
equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum
products, chemicals
Imports - partners: South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%,
Singapore 2% (2000)
Debt - external: $336 million (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $104 million (2001)
Currency: lilangeni (SZL)
Currency code: SZL
Exchange rates: emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808
(January 2002), 8.4933 (2001),
6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807
(1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the
Swazi lilangeni is at par with the
South African rand; emalangeni is
the plural form of lilangeni
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Swaziland
------------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 38,500 (2001)
Telephones - 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)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters,
shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios: 170,000 (1999)
Television broadcast stations: 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001)
Televisions: 23,000 (2000)
Internet country code: .sz
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2001)
Internet users: 6,000 (2001)
Transportation Swaziland
------------------------
Railways: total: 297 km
narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge
note: includes 71 km which are not
in use (2001)
Highways: total: 3,800 km
paved: 1,064 km
unpaved: 2,736 km (2002)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 18 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 10 (2001)
Military Swaziland
------------------
Military branches: Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force
(Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 146,805 (2002 est.)
service:
Military expenditures - dollar $20 million (FY01/02)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 4.75% (FY00/01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Swaziland
------------------------------
Disputes - international: Swaziland continues to press South
Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi
lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-
Natal province that were long ago
part of the Swazi Kingdom