Mauritius (2001) | Swaziland (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
25.53% (male 153,691; female 150,094) 15-64 years: 68.24% (male 404,940; female 407,056) 65 years and over: 6.23% (male 29,588; female 44,456) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 18 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
Area | total:
1,860 sq km land: 1,850 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. | 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 King MSWATI III, the world's last ruling monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection. |
Birth rate | 16.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.1 billion expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $977 million
expenditures: $1.034 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Port Louis | name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) |
Climate | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 177 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 | signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
Currency | Mauritian rupee (MUR) | - |
Death rate | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.9 billion (1998 est.) | $484 million (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mark W. ERWIN embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 208-2347, 208-2354, 208-9763 through 9767 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lynn ALLISON
embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla 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 Usha JEETAH chancery: Suite 441, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
Disputes - international | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); claims French-administered Tromelin Island | in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa |
Economic aid - recipient | $42 million (1997) | $46.03 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on foreign investment. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Economic performance since 1991 has continued strong with solid growth and low unemployment. | 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 more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% 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 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.172 billion kWh (1999) | 1.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.26 billion kWh (1999) | 460 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
91.27% hydro: 8.73% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.900 (January 2001), 26.250 (2000), 25.186 (1999), 22.993 (1998), 21.057 (1997), 17.948 (1996) | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Cassam UTEEM (since 1 July 1992) and Vice President Angidi Verriah CHETTIAR (since 28 June 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 17 September 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since 17 September 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 28 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president and are responsible to the National Assembly election results: Cassam UTEEM reelected president and Angidi Verriah CHETTIAR elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA% |
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 from among the elected members of the House of Assembly |
Exports | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | UK 32%, France 19%, US 15%, Germany 6%, Italy 4% (1999 est.) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green | 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 - $12.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 29% services: 61% (1996) |
agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 46.1% services: 41.9% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,400 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 17 S, 57 33 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total:
1,910 km paved: 1,834 km (including 36 km of expressways) unpaved: 76 km (1998) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.7% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally | - |
Imports | $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals (1996) | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 14%, South Africa 11%, India 8%, UK 5% (1999 est.) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006) |
Independence | 12 March 1968 (from UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism | coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | 17.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2000 est.) | 5.7% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, InOC, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 170 sq km (1993 est.) | 500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 514,000 (1995) | 300,000 (2006) |
Labor force - by occupation | construction and industry 36%, services 24%, agriculture and fishing 14%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, transportation and communication 7%, finance 3% (1995) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land:
49% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 22% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (66 seats - 62 elected by popular vote, 4 appointed by the election commission from the losing political parties to give representation to various ethnic minorities; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 September 2000 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - MSM/MMM 52.3%, MLP/PMSD 36.9%, OPR 10.8%; seats by party - MSM/MMM 54, MLP/PMSD 6, OPR 2 |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in 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:
71.25 years male: 67.26 years female: 75.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 32.23 years
male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82.9% male: 87.1% female: 78.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,909 GRT/87,313 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, combination bulk 2, container 2, liquefied gas 1, refrigerated cargo 2 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: India 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF and National Coast Guard) | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $11 million (FY97/98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.3% (FY97/98) | 4.7% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
339,473 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
171,206 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards | drought |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Hizbullah [Cehl Mohamed FAKEEMEEAH]; Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER] - in coalition with MSM; Mauritian Militant Renaissance or MMR [Dr. Paramhansa NABABSING]; Mauritian Social Democrat Party or PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH] - governing party; Rodrigues Movement or OPR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY] | the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various labor unions | NA |
Population | 1,189,825 (July 2001 est.) | 1,133,066
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10.6% (1992 est.) | 69% (2006) |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) | -0.337% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Port Louis | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004) |
Radios | 420,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1% | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment:
small system with good service domestic: primarily microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries |
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 | 223,000 (1997) | 44,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 37,000 (1997) | 250,000 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
Terrain | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.4% (1999 est.) | 40% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |