Background:

The British guaranteed autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa 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.

Land boundaries:

total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km

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.)

Natural hazards:

drought

Environment - current issues:

limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion

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.)

Population growth rate:

1.63% (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.)

People living with HIV/AIDS:

212,000 (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

7,100 (1999 est.)

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), isiSwati (official)

Literacy:

total population: 78.3%
male: 78%
female: 78.4% (1999 est.)

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)

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:

elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch:

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]

Economy - overview:

In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agro processing 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.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

7.5% (2001 est.)

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 - consumption:

900.66 million 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)

Exchange rates:

The Swazi Lilangeni is at par with the South African Rand; Emalangeni is the plural form of Lilangeni

Telephones - main lines in use:

38,500 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

45,000 (2001)

Televisions:

23,000 (2000)

Internet users:

14,000 (2002)

Military branches:

Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure:

$20 million (FY01/02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

4.75% (FY00/01)

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