Marshall Islands (2004) | Swaziland (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.6% (male 11,347; female 10,934)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 17,380; female 16,520) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 748; female 809) (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 | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 15 (2003 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 181.3 sq km
land: 181.3 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik |
total:
17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962. The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Reagan Missile Test Site, a key installation in the US missile defense network. | 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 | 33.88 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 40.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $42 million
expenditures: $40 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97) |
Capital | Majuro | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | tropical; hot and humid; wet season from May to November; islands border typhoon belt | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 370.4 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 May 1979 | 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 the Marshall Islands
conventional short form: Marshall Islands former: Marshall Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | lilangeni (SZL) |
Death rate | 4.94 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $86.5 million (FY99/00 est.) | $281 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Greta N. MORRIS
embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
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 Banny DE BRUM
chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
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 | claims US territory of Wake Island | 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 | more than $1 billion from the US, 1986-2002 | $55 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production is primarily subsistence and is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US has provided more than $1 billion in aid since 1986. Negotiations have continued for an extended agreement. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism and foreign investment due to the Asian financial difficulties, and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade. | 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 | - | 198 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 852 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 701 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 375 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
53.33% hydro: 46.67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 m |
lowest point:
Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels | 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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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 | Micronesian | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is the legal tender | 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 Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament from among its own members for a four-year term; election last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held NA November 2007) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
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 | $9 million f.o.b. (2000) | $881 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | copra cake, coconut oil, handicrafts, fish | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | US, Japan, Australia, China (2000) | South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes | 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 - $115 million (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14%
industry: 16% services: 70% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 46% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2001 est.) | 2.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 N, 168 00 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | two archipelagic island chains of 30 atolls and 1,152 islands; Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is now used as a US missile test range | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: 64.5 km unpaved: NA km note: paved roads on major islands (Majuro, Kwajalein), otherwise stone-, coral-, or laterite-surfaced roads and tracks (2002) |
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 | $54 million f.o.b. (2000) | $928 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Singapore, Fiji, China, Philippines (2000) | South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (1998) |
Independence | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | copra, fish, tourism, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls | mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates |
Infant mortality rate | total: 30.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
109.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2001 est.) | 6.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | 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 | 0 sq km | 670 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 28,700 (1996 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 21.4%, industry 20.9%, services 57.7% | 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: 16.67%
permanent crops: 38.89% other: 44.44% (2001) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 62% forests and woodland: 7% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (widely spoken as a second language, both English and Marshallese are official languages), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | 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 Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held not later than November 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA note: the Council of Chiefs is a 12-member body that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
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: 69.7 years
male: 67.77 years female: 71.73 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: 93.7% male: 93.6% female: 93.7% (1999) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.7% male: 78% female: 75.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of atolls and reefs in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 420 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,954,092 GRT/28,176,762 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 81, cargo 25, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 7, container 77, liquefied gas 9, multi-functional large load carrier 5, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 149, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 7, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: Australia 2, Chile 3, Croatia 2, Cyprus 10, Denmark 2, Germany 119, Greece 82, Hong Kong 12, India 2, Japan 16, Monaco 18, Netherlands 6, New Zealand 1, Norway 5, Poland 11, Singapore 1, Slovenia 1, Switzerland 4, Thailand 2, Turkey 8, United Kingdom 10, United States 92 registered in other countries: 50 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Marshall Islands Police | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $19.198 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 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 | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
adjective: Marshallese |
noun:
Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | infrequent typhoons | NA |
Natural resources | coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Kabua Party [Imata KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] | 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 | 57,738 (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 | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.29% (2004 est.) | 1.83% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Majuro | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0
note: additionally, the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Services (Central Pacific Network) operate one FM and one AM station on Kwajalein (2002) |
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 | Christian (mostly Protestant) | Protestant 55%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 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 | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: digital switching equipment; modern services include telex, cellular, internet, international calling, caller ID, and leased data circuits
domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: country code - 692; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein (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 | 4,500 (2003) | 33,500 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 600 (2002) | 30,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (both are US military stations) (2002) | 10 (2000) |
Terrain | low coral limestone and sand islands | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.02 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 5.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30.9% (1999 est.) | 22% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |