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Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) - Swaziland (2005)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2008) z Swaziland (2005)
| British Virgin Islands (2008) | Swaziland (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.6% (male 240,643/female 235,895)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 327,661/female 325,400) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 19,273/female 25,028) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
| Airports | 3 (2007) | 18 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
| Background | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | 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 |
| Birth rate | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
revenues: $494.6 million
expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.) |
| Capital | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
| Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | varies from tropical to near temperate |
| Coastline | 80 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 13 June 2007 | a constitution was due to be adopted in November 2003 but was delayed and scheduled for early 2005 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
| Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $320 million (2002 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Lewis LUCKE
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 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $104 million (2001) |
| Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. | 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 three-quarters 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 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS. |
| Electricity - consumption | 41.85 million kWh (2005) | 1.173 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 45 million kWh (2005) | 402 million kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | 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 |
| Ethnic groups | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) | African 97%, European 3% |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
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 |
| Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
| Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | 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 |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
| Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
| Highways | - | total: 3,107 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering | - |
| Imports | 604.3 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
| Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 69.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2005) | 5.4% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS, UNESCO (associate), UPU | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, 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 |
| Irrigated land | NA | 690 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
| Labor force | 12,770 (2004) | 383,200 (2000) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
NA |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
| Languages | English (official) | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
| Legal system | English law | 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 |
| Legislative branch | unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
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 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 33.22 years
male: 32.49 years female: 33.98 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $40.5 million (2004) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (2004) |
| National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
| Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | drought |
| Natural resources | NEGL | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
| Net migration rate | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | political parties are banned by the government - 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 | NA |
| Population | 23,552 (July 2007 est.) | 1,173,900
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 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (1995) |
| Population growth rate | 1.923% (2007 est.) | 0.25% (2005 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) |
| Railways | - | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
| Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age |
| Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
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) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 11,700 (2002) | 46,200 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 88,000 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2004) |
| Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
| Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6% (1997) | 34% (2000 est.) |
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