Compare Maldives (2005) - Swaziland (2005)

Compare Maldives (2005) z Swaziland (2005)

	Maldives (2005)	Swaziland (2005)

Administrative divisions	19 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural) and 1 other first-order administrative division; Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Maale, Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu	4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni
Age structure	0-14 years: 43.9% (male 78,794/female 74,505) 15-64 years: 53% (male 94,488/female 90,624) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 5,339/female 5,356) (2005 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	coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish	sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Airports	5 (2004 est.)	18 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)	total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.)	total: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 300 sq km land: 300 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative	about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than New Jersey
Background	The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. Since 1978, President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM - currently in his sixth term in office - has dominated the islands' political scene. Following riots in the capital Male in August 2004, the president and his government have pledged to embark upon democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago.	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	35.43 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	27.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $224 million (excluding foreign grants) expenditures: $282 million, including capital expenditures of $80 million (2002 est.)	revenues: $494.6 million expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.)
Capital	Male	Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)	varies from tropical to near temperate
Coastline	644 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	adopted 1 January 1998	a constitution was due to be adopted in November 2003 but was delayed and scheduled for early 2005
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Maldives conventional short form: Maldives local long form: Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa local short form: Dhivehi Raajje	conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland
Death rate	7.24 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$281 million (2003 est.)	$320 million (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic visits there	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 Dr. Mohamed LATHEEF chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400E, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6195	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 (1995)	$104 million (2001)
Economy - overview	Tourism, Maldives' largest industry, accounts for 20% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Fishing is a second leading sector. The Maldivian Government began an economic reform program in 1989 initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to allow more foreign investment. Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play a lesser role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labor. Most staple foods must be imported. Industry, which consists mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts, accounts for about 18% of GDP. Maldivian authorities worry about the impact of erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying country; 80% of the area is one meter or less above sea level. In late December 2004, a major tsunami left more than 100 dead, 12,000 displaced, and property damage exceeding $300 million.	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	115.7 million kWh (2002)	1.173 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2002)	799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)
Electricity - production	124.4 million kWh (2002)	402 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m	lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m
Environment - current issues	depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching	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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection 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	South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs	African 97%, European 3%
Exchange rates	rufiyaa per US dollar - 12.8 (2004), 12.8 (2003), 12.8 (2002), 12.24 (2001), 11.77 (2000)	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 Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president nominated by the Majlis and then the nomination must be ratified by a national referendum (at least a 51% approval margin is required); president elected for a five-year term; election last held 17 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM reelected in referendum held 17 October 2003; percent of popular vote - Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM 90.3%	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	NA	NA
Exports - commodities	fish, clothing	soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
Exports - partners	US 26.5%, Thailand 23.5%, Sri Lanka 12.3%, Japan 11.7%, UK 9.8%, Germany 4.9% (2004)	South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the 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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 20% industry: 18% services: 62% (2000 est.)	agriculture: 16.1% industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $3,900 (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.3% (2002 est.)	2.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	3 15 N, 73 00 E	26 30 S, 31 30 E
Geography - note	1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean	landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
Highways	total: NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km	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)
Imports	NA	NA
Imports - commodities	petroleum products, ships, foodstuffs, textiles, clothing, intermediate and capital goods	motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners	Singapore 24.9%, Sri Lanka 10.6%, UAE 10.3%, India 10.2%, Malaysia 7.6%, Bahrain 5.4% (2004)	South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004)
Independence	26 July 1965 (from UK)	6 September 1968 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	4.4% (1996 est.)	3.7% (FY95/96)
Industries	fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining	mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel
Infant mortality rate	total: 56.52 deaths/1,000 live births male: 55.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 57.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 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)	1% (2002 est.)	5.4% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	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 sq km	690 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court	High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch
Labor force	88,000 (2000)	383,200 (2000)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 22%, industry 18%, services 60% (1995)	NA
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km
Land use	arable land: 13.33% permanent crops: 16.67% other: 70% (2001)	arable land: 10.35% permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001)
Languages	Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials	English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
Legal system	based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	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 People's Council or Majlis (50 seats; 42 elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 22 January 2005 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 50	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: 64.06 years male: 62.76 years female: 65.42 years (2005 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: 97.2% male: 97.1% female: 97.3% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India	Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa
Map references	Asia	Africa
Maritime claims	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 16 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 57,118 GRT/72,831 DWT by type: cargo 12, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2005)	-
Military branches	National Security Service includes Security Branch (ground forces), Air Element, Coast Guard	Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$41.1 million (2004)	$40.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.5% (2004)	1.4% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 26 July (1965)	Independence Day, 6 September (1968)
Nationality	noun: Maldivian(s) adjective: Maldivian	noun: Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi
Natural hazards	low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise	drought
Natural resources	fish	asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	although political parties are not banned, none exist	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	none	NA
Population	349,106 (July 2005 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	2.82% (2005 est.)	0.25% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Male	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004)
Railways	-	total: 301 km narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Sunni Muslim	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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2005 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	21 years of age; universal	18 years of age
Telephone system	general assessment: minimal domestic and international facilities domestic: interatoll communication through microwave links; all inhabited islands are connected with telephone and fax service international: country code - 960; satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)	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	28,700 (2002)	46,200 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	41,900 (2002)	88,000 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (1997)	5 plus 7 relay stations (2004)
Terrain	flat, with white sandy beaches	mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
Total fertility rate	5.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)	3.7 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	NEGL% (2003 est.)	34% (2000 est.)

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