Swaziland (2001) | Palau (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatobohei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsoral |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 2,714; female 2,552)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 7,352; female 6,197) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 429; female 473) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes |
Airports | 18 (2000 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. |
Birth rate | 40.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97) |
revenues: $57.7 million
expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY 98/99 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | wet season May to November; hot and humid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,519 km |
Constitution | 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 | 1 January 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form: Republic of Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $0 (FY 99/00) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: address NA, Koror mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1800 K Street NW, Suite 714, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $55 million (1995) | $155.8 million ; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. |
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) |
0% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) |
Exchange rates | 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 | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 53%, Peter SUGIYAMA 46%; Sandra PIERANTOZZI elected vice president; percent of vote - Sandra PIERANTOZZI 52%, Alan SEID 45% |
Exports | $881 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $18 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments |
Exports - partners | South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% (1998) | US, Japan, Singapore (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | 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 | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $174 million
note: $174 million $174 million GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 46% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2000 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 7 30 N, 134 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands |
Highways | total:
3,000 km paved: 850 km unpaved: 2,150 km (1997) |
total: 61 km
paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $928 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $99 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (1998) | US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, Korea (2000) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | NA% |
Industries | mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
Infant mortality rate | 109.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 3.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | NA | 9,845 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | private sector 70%, public sector 30% | agriculture 20%, industry NA%, services NA% (1990) |
Land boundaries | total:
535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 62% forests and woodland: 7% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 21.74%
permanent crops: 0% other: 78.26% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) |
Legal 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 | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Delegates - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9; House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.62 years male: 37.86 years female: 39.4 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.5 years
male: 66.37 years female: 72.82 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.7% male: 78% female: 75.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
extended fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $19.198 million (FY00/01) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.75% (FY00/01) | NA% |
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 | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi |
noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | 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 |
none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 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.) |
19,717 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.83% (2001 est.) | 1.54% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Koror |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 6 (2000) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002) |
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 |
0 km |
Religions | Protestant 55%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Christian (Roman Catholics 49%, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion, which is indigenous to Palau) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33,500 (2000) | 6,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2000) | 1,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (2000) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 5.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (1995 est.) | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |