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, the world'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 political parties remain banned. 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 rates of HIV/AIDS infection.

Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa
26 30 S, 31 30 E
Africa
total: 17,363 sq km ; land: 17,203 sq km ; water: 160 sq km
slightly smaller than New Jersey
total: 535 km ; border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km
0 km (landlocked)
none (landlocked)
varies from tropical to near temperate
mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m ; highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m
asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
arable land: 10.25% ; permanent crops: 0.81% ; other: 88.94% (2005)
500 sq km (2003)
4.5 cu km (1987)
Total: 1.04 cu km/yr (2%/1%/97%) ; Per capita: 1,010 cu m/yr (2000)
drought
limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection ; signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
1,133,066 ; 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 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184) ; 15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) ; 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.)
total: 18.6 years ; male: 17.9 years ; female: 19.3 years (2007 est.)
-0.337% (2007 est.)
26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 32.23 years ; male: 31.84 years ; female: 32.62 years (2007 est.)
3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.)
38.8% (2003 est.)
220,000 (2003 est.)
17,000 (2003 est.)
noun: Swazi(s) ; adjective: Swazi
African 97%, European 3%
Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30%
English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write ; total population: 81.6% ; male: 82.6% ; female: 80.8% (2003 est.)


conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland ; conventional short form: Swaziland ; local long form: Umbuso weSwatini ; local short form: eSwatini
monarchy
name: Mbabane ; geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E ; time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ; note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)
4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni

6 September 1968 (from UK)
Independence Day, 6 September (1968)
signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006
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
18 years of age
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 from among the elected members of the House of Assembly
bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms) ; elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in 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
High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch
the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]
NA
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Maurice S. PARKER ; 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





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 more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union, which may equal as much as 70% of government revenue this year, and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland is not poor enough to merit an IMF program; however, the country is struggling to reduce the size of the civil service and control costs at public enterprises. 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.
$5.424 billion (2007 est.)
$2.305 billion (2007 est.)
1.6% (2007 est.)
$4,800 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 11.8% ; industry: 45.8% ; services: 42.3% (2007 est.)
300,000 (2006)
agriculture: NA% ; industry: NA% ; services: NA%
40% (2006 est.)
69% (2006)
lowest 10%: 1.6% ; highest 10%: 40.7% (2001)
50.4 (2001)
6% (2007 est.)
17.9% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $1.216 billion ; expenditures: $1.15 billion (2007 est.)

sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel
1% (2007 est.)
460 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 58% ; hydro: 42% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
1.3 billion kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
3,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
3,530 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$26.71 million (2007 est.)
$2.169 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006)
$2.31 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006)

$394.9 million (31 December 2007 est.)
$538.6 million (31 December 2007 est.)
$NA
$NA
$196.8 million (2005)
lilangeni (SZL)
SZL
emalangeni per US dollar - 7.4 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003)
1 April - 31 March
$46.03 million (2005)
44,000 (2006)
250,000 (2006)
general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system ; domestic: mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing; combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity about 25 telephones per 100 persons; 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)
AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004)
170,000 (1999)
12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004)
23,000 (2000)
.sz
2,672 (2007)
5 (2002)
41,600 (2005)

18 (2007)
total: 1 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
total: 17 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 7 ; under 914 m: 10 (2007)


total: 301 km ; narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)
total: 3,594 km ; paved: 1,078 km ; unpaved: 2,516 km (2002)




Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007)
18-30 years of age for voluntary military service; both sexes are eligible for military service (2005)
males age 18-49: 227,617 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 89,609 (2005 est.)

4.7% (2006)

in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa



