Guernsey (2005) | Swaziland (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.4% (male 5,084/female 4,937)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 21,611/female 22,002) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,882/female 6,712) (2005 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 | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 2 (2004 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
total:
17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | 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 | 9.01 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 40.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97) |
Capital | Saint Peter Port | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 50 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 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: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | - | lilangeni (SZL) |
Death rate | 9.95 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $281 million (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none | 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 | NA | $55 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. | 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 | NA kWh | 198 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 852 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 701 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 375 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
53.33% hydro: 46.67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point:
Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA% |
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 | $881 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross | 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 - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 46% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $40,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 2.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
3,000 km paved: 850 km unpaved: 2,150 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $NA | $928 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (1998) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | tourism, banking | mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
109.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.9% (2004 est.) | 6.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 | NA sq km | 670 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 32,290 (2001) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | private sector 70%, public sector 30% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 62% forests and woodland: 7% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | English law and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court | 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 States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents |
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: 80.3 years
male: 77.3 years female: 83.41 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
38.62 years male: 37.86 years female: 39.4 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.7% male: 78% female: 75.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $19.198 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 4.75% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
248,084 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
143,618 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun:
Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | NA | NA |
Natural resources | cropland | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | 3.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | 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 | none | NA |
Population | 65,228 (July 2005 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% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.29% (2005 est.) | 1.83% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 7, FM 6 (2000) |
Radios | - | 155,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
297 km; note - includes 71 km which are not in use narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | Protestant 55%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 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 | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
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 | 55,000 (2001) | 33,500 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 31,500 (2001) | 30,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 10 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 5.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |