Estonia (2004) | Swaziland (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16% (male 110,452; female 104,363)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 431,493; female 474,255) 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 72,819; female 148,282) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
45.53% (male 250,327; female 252,479) 15-64 years: 51.88% (male 276,186; female 296,728) 65 years and over: 2.59% (male 11,687; female 16,936) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 29 (2003 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2003 est.) |
total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
total:
17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. | 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. |
Birth rate | 9.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 40.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.806 billion
expenditures: $3.648 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97) |
Capital | Tallinn | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 3,794 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1992 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | Estonian kroon (EEK) | lilangeni (SZL) |
Death rate | 13.27 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.002 billion (2003 est.) | $281 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Aldona Zofia WOS
embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Gregory L. JOHNSON 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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Juri LUIK
chancery: 2131 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
Disputes - international | Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint December 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia | Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom |
Economic aid - recipient | $108 million (2000) | $55 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization, is steadily moving toward a modern market economy with increasing ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors. Estonia has been invited to join the European Union and will do so in May 2004. The economy is greatly influenced by developments in Finland, Sweden, Russia, and Germany, four major trading partners. The high current account deficit remains a concern. However, the state budget enjoyed a surplus of $130 million in 2003. | In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 60% 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 four-fifths of its imports and to which it sends 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 2001 are strengthened by government millennium projects for a new convention center, additional hotels, an amusement park, a new airport, and stepped-up roadbuilding and factory construction plans. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.192 billion kWh (2001) | 198 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 1.19 billion kWh (2001) | 852 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 701 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7.937 billion kWh (2001) | 375 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
53.33% hydro: 46.67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
lowest point:
Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies in 2000 was one twentieth the level of 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Estonian 65.3%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Belarusian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.6% (1998) | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | krooni per US dollar - 13.8564 (2003), 16.6118 (2002), 17.4781 (2001), 16.9686 (2000), 14.6776 (1999) | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.7803 (January 2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997), 4.2706 (1996); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Arnold RUUTEL (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Juhan PARTS (since 10 April 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if he or she does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 21 September 2001 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Arnold RUUTEL elected president on 21 September 2001 by a 367-member electoral assembly that convened following Parliament's failure in August to elect then-President MERI's successor; on the second ballot of voting, RUUTEL received 186 votes to Parliament Speaker Toomas SAVI's 155; the remaining 26 ballots were either left blank or invalid |
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 |
Exports | NA (2001) | $881 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | Finland 21.9%, Sweden 12.5%, Russia 11.4%, Germany 8.4%, Latvia 7.4%, Lithuania 4% (2003) | South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white | 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 | purchasing power parity - $17.35 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 30.3% services: 64.8% (2003) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 46% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,300 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2003 est.) | 2.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 59 00 N, 26 00 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total: 51,411 km
paved: 10,334 km (including 94 km of expressways) unpaved: 41,077 km (2000) |
total:
3,000 km paved: 850 km unpaved: 2,150 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1998) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking; potential money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking is a concern as is possible use of the gambling sector to launder funds | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | $928 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Finland 15.9%, Germany 11.1%, Russia 10.2%, Sweden 7.7%, Ukraine 4.3%, China 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2003) | South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (1998) |
Independence | 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; information technology, telecommunications | mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates |
Infant mortality rate | total: 8.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
109.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.3% (2003 est.) | 6.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1998 est.) | 670 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 654,000 (2003 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 11%, industry 20%, services 69% (1999 est.) | private sector 70%, public sector 30% |
Land boundaries | total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 km |
total:
535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.04%
permanent crops: 0.45% other: 83.51% (2001) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 62% forests and woodland: 7% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | 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 Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party 25.4%, Res Publica 24.6%, Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%; seats by party - Center Party 28, Res Publica 28, Reform Party 19, Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, People's Party Moodukad 6 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.38 years
male: 65.78 years female: 77.33 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
38.62 years male: 37.86 years female: 39.4 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.7% male: 78% female: 75.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 212,998 GRT/177,488 DWT
by type: bulk 2, cargo 12, container 4, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea/passenger 5 foreign-owned: Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 45 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Estonia Defense Forces (including Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force), Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Maritime Border Guard, Coast Guard
note: Border Guards and Ministry of Internal Affairs become part of the Estonian Defense Forces in wartime; the Coast Guard is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense in peacetime and the Estonian Navy in wartime |
Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $155 million (2002 est.) | $19.198 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (2002 est.) | 4.75% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 326,803 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
248,084 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 257,386 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
143,618 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 10,884 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 is the date Estonia declared its independence from Soviet Russia; 20 August 1991 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
noun:
Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring | NA |
Natural resources | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -3.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 859 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Estonian People's Union (Rahvaliit) [Villu REILJAN, chairman]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Andrus ANSIP]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP [Yevgeniy TOMBERG, chairman]; Pro Patria Union (Isamaaliit) [Tunne KELAM, chairman]; Res Publica [Juhan PARTS, chairman]; Social Democratic Party (formerly People's Party Moodukad or Moderates) [Ivari PADAR, chairman]; Social Liberals (group of 8 parliamentarians, former Center Party members) [Peeter Kreitzberg] | 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]; Swaziland Progressive Party or SPP [J. J. NQUKU, president]; Swaziland United Front or SUF [Matsapa SHONGWE, leader]
note: political parties are banned by the constitution promulgated on 13 October 1978; illegal parties are prohibited from holding large public gatherings; the organizations listed are political associations |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 1,341,664 (July 2004 est.) | 1,104,343
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA (2000) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.66% (2004 est.) | 1.83% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 7, FM 6 (2000) |
Radios | - | 155,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 958 km
broad gauge: 958 km 1.520-m/1.524-m gauge (132 km electrified) note: gauge being increased from 1.520-m to 1.524-m to reduce wear on wheels and rail as lines are modernized (2003) |
total:
297 km; note - includes 71 km which are not in use narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish | Protestant 55%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for all Estonian citizens | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are available throughout most of the country - only about 11,000 subscriber requests were unfilled by September 2000
domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn (2001) |
general assessment:
not a modern system domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 475,000 (2002) | 33,500 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 881,000 (2002) | 30,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (2001) | 10 (2000) |
Terrain | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.39 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.1% (2003) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | 500 km (2003) | none |