Georgia (2001) | Swaziland (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 53 rayons (raionebi, singular - raioni), 9 cities* (k'alak'ebi, singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics** (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abashis, Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Sokhumi), Adigenis, Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Bat'umi), Akhalgoris, Akhalk'alak'is, Akhalts'ikhis, Akhmetis, Ambrolauris, Aspindzis, Baghdat'is, Bolnisis, Borjomis, Chiat'ura*, Ch'khorotsqus, Ch'okhatauris, Dedop'listsqaros, Dmanisis, Dushet'is, Gardabanis, Gori*, Goris, Gurjaanis, Javis, K'arelis, Kaspis, Kharagaulis, Khashuris, Khobis, Khonis, K'ut'aisi*, Lagodekhis, Lanch'khut'is, Lentekhis, Marneulis, Martvilis, Mestiis, Mts'khet'is, Ninotsmindis, Onis, Ozurget'is, P'ot'i*, Qazbegis, Qvarlis, Rust'avi*, Sach'kheris, Sagarejos, Samtrediis, Senakis, Sighnaghis, T'bilisi*, T'elavis, T'erjolis, T'et'ritsqaros, T'ianet'is, Tqibuli*, Ts'ageris, Tsalenjikhis, Tsalkis, Tsqaltubo*, Vanis, Zestap'onis, Zugdidi*, Zugdidis
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
19.59% (male 498,575; female 478,663) 15-64 years: 67.91% (male 1,632,338; female 1,755,910) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 241,824; female 381,975) (2001 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 | citrus, grapes, tea, vegetables, potatoes; livestock | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 31 (2000 est.) | 18 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
16 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
69,700 sq km land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Russian troops remain garrisoned at four military bases and as peacekeepers in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (but are scheduled to withdraw from two of the bases by July 2001). Despite a badly degraded transportation network - brought on by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages - the country continues to move toward a market economy and greater integration with Western institutions. | 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 | 11.18 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$437 million expenditures: $626 million, including capital expenditures of $60 million (1999) |
revenues: $494.6 million
expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | T'bilisi | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 310 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted 17 October 1995 | 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: Georgia local long form: none local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | lari (GEL) | - |
Death rate | 14.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.9 billion (2000) | $320 million (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Kenneth S. YALOWITZ embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380026 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [995] (32) 989-967/68 FAX: [995] (32) 933-759 |
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Tedo JAPARIDZE chancery: Suite 300, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 387-2390 FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537 |
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 | $212.7 million (1995) | $104 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since 1995, increasing GDP growth and slashing inflation. The Georgian economy continues to experience large budget deficits due to a failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia also still suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the distribution network in 1998, and deliveries are steadily improving. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery on the development of an international transportation corridor through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. The growing trade deficit, continuing problems with tax evasion and corruption, and political uncertainties cloud the short-term economic picture. | 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 | 7.117 billion kWh (1999) | 1.173 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 850 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 550 million kWh (1999) | 799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002) |
Electricity - production | 7.975 billion kWh (1999) | 402 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
20.38% hydro: 79.62% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora Kazbek) 5,048 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals | 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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5% | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | lari per US dollar - 1.9798 (December 2000), 1.9762 (2000), 2.0245 (1999), 1.3898 (1998), 1.2975 (1997), 1.2628 (1996) | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992; Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992; Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Eduard SHEVARDNADZE reelected president; percent of vote - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 80% |
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 | $372 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery and metals; chemicals; fuel reexports; textiles | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | Russia 19%, Turkey 16%, Azerbaijan 8%, Armenia 6% (1999) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below | 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 - $22.8 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
32% industry: 23% services: 45% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 00 N, 43 30 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total:
33,900 km paved: 29,500 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 4,400 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
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 | limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia | - |
Imports | $898 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 22%, Russia 19%, Turkey 12%, US 12% (1999) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) |
Independence | 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.3% (1998 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | steel, aircraft, machine tools, electric locomotives, trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes, chemicals, wood products, wine | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | 52.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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) | 4.1% (2000 est.) | 5.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 690 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's recommendation); Constitutional Court | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 3.08 million (1997) | 383,200 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 20%, agriculture 40%, services 40% (1999 est.) | NA |
Land boundaries | total:
1,461 km border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km |
total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land:
9% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 34% other: 28% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
Languages | Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia |
English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law 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 |
Legislative branch | unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 October and 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - CUG 41.85%, AGUR 25.65%, IWSG 7.8%, all other parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - CUG 130, AGUR 58, IWSG 15, Abkhaz deputies 12, independents 17, other 3 |
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:
64.57 years male: 61.04 years female: 68.28 years (2001 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: 99% male: 100% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Africa |
Maritime claims | NA | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 131,316 GRT/190,289 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 25, chemical tanker 2, container 2, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | a CIS peacekeeping force consisting of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia | - |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $23 million (FY00) | $40.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.59% (FY00) | 1.4% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,296,199 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,024,574 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
41,561 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Georgian(s) adjective: Georgian |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | earthquakes | drought |
Natural resources | forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440 km (1992) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Citizen's Union of Georgia or CUG [Eduard SHEVARDNADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE, chairman]; Industry Will Save Georgia or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Irina SARISHVILI-CHANTURIA]; Socialist Party or SPG [Temur GAMTSEMLIDZE]; Union for "Revival" Party or AGUR [Alsan ABASHIDZE]; United Republican Party or URP [Nodar NATADZE, chairman] | 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 | Georgian refugees from Abkhazia (Abkhaz faction in Georgian Parliament); separatist elements in the breakaway region of Abkhazia; supporters of the late ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA remain a source of opposition | NA |
Population | 4,989,285 (July 2001 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 | 60% (1999 est.) | 40% (1995) |
Population growth rate | -0.59% (2001 est.) | 0.25% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) |
Radios | 3.02 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
1,583 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 1,583 km 1.520-m gauge (1993) |
total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Georgian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6% | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 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:
NA domestic: local - T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi have cellular telephone networks; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager service is available international: Georgia and Russia are working on a fiber-optic line between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available |
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 | 620,000 (1997) | 46,200 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (1997) | 88,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus repeaters) (1998) | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2004) |
Terrain | largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.45 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.9% (1999 est.) | 34% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |