:Swaziland Geography

Total area:
    17,360 km2
Land area:
    17,200 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
    535 km total; Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km
Coastline:
    none - landlocked
Maritime claims:
    none - landlocked
Disputes:
    none
Climate:
    varies from tropical to near temperate
Terrain:
    mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
Natural resources:
    asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and
    diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Land use:
    arable land 8%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 67%; forest and
    woodland 6%; other 19%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment:
    overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
Note:
    landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa

:Swaziland People

Population:
    913,008 (July 1992), growth rate 2.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
    44 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    12 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    -6 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    98 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    52 years male, 60 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    6.2 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Swazi(s); adjective - Swazi
Ethnic divisions:
    African 97%, European 3%
Religions:
    Christian 60%, indigenous beliefs 40%
Languages:
    English and siSwati (official); government business conducted in English
Literacy:
    55% (male 57%, female 54%) age 15 and over can read and write (1976)
Labor force:
    195,000; over 60,000 engaged in subsistence agriculture; about 92,000 wage
    earners (many only intermittently), with agriculture and forestry 36%,
    community and social services 20%, manufacturing 14%, construction 9%, other
    21%; 16,800 employed in South Africa mines (1990)
Organized labor:
    about 10% of wage earners

:Swaziland Government

Long-form name:
    Kingdom of Swaziland
Type:
    monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth
Capital:
    Mbabane (administrative); Lobamba (legislative)
Administrative divisions:
    4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
Independence:
    6 September 1968 (from UK)
Constitution:
    none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended on 12 April 1973; a new
    constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but has not been formally
    presented to the people
Legal system:
    based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts, Swazi
    traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted
    compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
    Somhlolo (Independence) Day, 6 September (1968)
Executive branch:
    monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    bicameral Parliament is advisory and consists of an upper house or Senate
    and a lower house or House of Assembly
Judicial branch:
    High Court, Court of Appeal
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister Obed DLAMINI (since 12 July 1989)
Political parties and leaders:
    none; banned by the Constitution promulgated on 13 October 1978
Suffrage:
    none
Elections:
    indirect parliamentary election through Swaziland's Tinkhundala System
    scheduled for November 1992
Member of:
    ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
    IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, PCA, SACU, SADCC, UN,
    UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Absalom Vusani MAMBA; Chancery at 3400 International Drive NW,
    Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-6683
  US:
    Ambassador Stephen H. ROGERS; Embassy at Central Bank Building, Warner
    Street, Mbabane (mailing address is P. O. Box 199, Mbabane); telephone [268]
    46441 through 5; FAX [268] 45959
Flag:
    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

:Swaziland Economy

Overview:
    The economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which occupies most of the
    labor force and contributes nearly 25% to GDP. Manufacturing, which includes
    a number of agroprocessing factories, accounts for another quarter of GDP.
    Mining has declined in importance in recent years; high-grade iron ore
    deposits were depleted in 1978, and health concerns cut world demand for
    asbestos. Exports of sugar and forestry products 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 75% of its imports and to which it sends about half of its exports.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $563 million, per capita $725; real growth rate
    5.0% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    13% (1990)
Unemployment rate:
    NA%
Budget:
    revenues $335.4 million; expenditures $360.5 million, including capital
    expenditures of $NA (FY93 est.)
Exports:
    $557 million (f.o.b., 1990)
  commodities:
    soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, citrus, canned fruit
  partners:
    South Africa 50% (est.), EC, Canada
Imports:
    $632 million (f.o.b., 1990)
  commodities:
    motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, petroleum products,
    foodstuffs, chemicals
  partners:
    South Africa 75% (est.), Japan, Belgium, UK
External debt:
    $290 million (1990)
Industrial production:
    growth rate NA; accounts for 26% of GDP (1989)
Electricity:
    60,000 kW capacity; 155 million kWh produced, 180 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
    mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar
Agriculture:
    accounts for 23% of GDP and over 60% of labor force; mostly subsistence
    agriculture; cash crops - sugarcane, cotton, maize, tobacco, rice, citrus
    fruit, pineapples; other crops and livestock - corn, sorghum, peanuts,
    cattle, goats, sheep; not self-sufficient in grain
Economic aid:
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $142 million; Western (non-US)
    countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $518 million
Currency:
    lilangeni (plural - emalangeni); 1 lilangeni (E) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
    emalangeni (E) per US$1 - 2.7814 (January 1992), 2.7563 (1991), 2.5863
    (1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988), 2.0350 (1987); note - the Swazi
    emalangeni is at par with the South African rand
Fiscal year:
    1 April - 31 March

:Swaziland Communications

Railroads:
    297 km (plus 71 km disused), 1.067-meter gauge, single track
Highways:
    2,853 km total; 510 km paved, 1,230 km crushed stone, gravel, or stabilized
    soil, and 1,113 km improved earth
Civil air:
    4 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    23 total, 21 usable; 1 with permanent-surfaced runways; none with runways
    over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    system consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines and low-capacity
    microwave links; 17,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 7 AM, 6 FM, 10 TV;
    1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

:Swaziland Defense Forces

Branches:
    Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force, Royal Swaziland Police Force
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 197,654; 114,204 fit for military service
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $11 million, about 2% of GNP (1989)