Swaziland (2001) | Qatar (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 10 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ad Dawhah, Al Ghuwayriyah, Al Jumayliyah, Al Khawr, Al Wakrah, Ar Rayyan, Jarayan al Batinah, Madinat ash Shamal, Umm Sa'id, Umm Salal |
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: 23.7% (male 104,453/female 100,295)
15-64 years: 72.9% (male 437,118/female 191,830) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 21,599/female 7,756) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | fruits, vegetables; poultry, dairy products, beef; fish |
Airports | 18 (2000 est.) | 4 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 11,437 sq km
land: 11,437 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas revenues. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by the amir, who had ruled the country since 1972. His son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, overthrew him in a bloodless coup in 1995. In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Oil and natural gas revenues enable Qatar to have one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. |
Birth rate | 40.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.54 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97) |
revenues: $10.17 billion
expenditures: $7.61 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Doha |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | arid; mild, pleasant winters; very hot, humid summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 563 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 | ratified by public referendum on 29 April 2003, endorsed by the Emir on 8 June 2004, effective on 9 June 2005 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form: State of Qatar
conventional short form: Qatar local long form: Dawlat Qatar local short form: Qatar note: closest approximation of the native pronunciation falls between cutter and gutter, but not like guitar |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | - |
Death rate | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $18.62 billion (2004 est.) |
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: Ambassador Chase UNTERMEYER
embassy: Al-Luqta District, 22 February Road, Doha mailing address: P. O. Box 2399, Doha telephone: [974] 488 4101 FAX: [974] 488 4298 |
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 Nasir bin Hamad bin Mubarak al-KHALIFA
chancery: 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 274-1600 and 274-1603 FAX: [1] (202) 237-0061 consulate(s) general: Houston |
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) | NA |
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. | Oil and gas account for more than 55% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have given Qatar a per capita GDP about 80% of that of the leading West European industrial countries. Proved oil reserves of 16 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Qatar's proved reserves of natural gas exceed 14 trillion cubic meters, more than 5% of the world total and third largest in the world. Long-term goals feature the development of offshore natural gas reserves to offset the ultimate decline in oil production. In recent years, Qatar has consistently posted trade surpluses largely because of high oil prices and increased natural gas exports, becoming one of the world's fastest growing and highest per-capita income countries. |
Electricity - consumption | 198 million kWh (1999) | 9.046 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 852 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 701 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 375 million kWh (1999) | 9.727 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
53.33% hydro: 46.67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Qurayn Abu al Bawl 103 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | limited natural fresh water resources are increasing dependence on large-scale desalination facilities |
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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% |
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 | Qatari rials per US dollar - 3.64 (2004), 3.64 (2003), 3.64 (2002), 3.64 (2001), 3.64 (2000) |
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: Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa al-Thani (since 27 June 1995 when, as crown prince, he ousted his father, Amir KHALIFA bin Hamad al-Thani, in a bloodless coup); Crown Prince TAMIM bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, third son of the monarch (selected Heir Apparent by the monarch on 5 August 2003); note - Amir HAMAD also holds the positions of Minister of Defense and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
head of government: Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Khalifa al-Thani, brother of the monarch (since 30 October 1996); Deputy Prime Minister MUHAMMAD bin Khalifa al-Thani, brother of the monarch (since 20 January 1998); First Deputy Prime Minister HAMAD bin JASIM bin JABIR al-Thani (since 16 September 2003; also Foreign Minister since 1992); Second Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah bin Hamad al-ATTIYAH (since 16 September 2003; also Energy Minister since NA 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary note: in April 2003, Qatar held nationwide elections for a 29-member Central Municipal Council (CMC), which has consultative powers aimed at improving the provision of municipal services; the first election for the CMC was held in March 1999 |
Exports | $881 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum products, fertilizers, steel |
Exports - partners | South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% (1998) | Japan 41.9%, South Korea 15.8%, Singapore 9.1%, India 5.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | maroon with a broad white serrated band (nine white points) on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 46% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 0.3%
industry: 58.2% services: 41.5% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2000 est.) | 8.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 25 30 N, 51 15 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | strategic location in central Persian Gulf near major petroleum deposits |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
3,000 km paved: 850 km unpaved: 2,150 km (1997) |
total: 1,230 km
paved: 1,107 km unpaved: 123 km (1999 est.) |
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) | NA |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (1998) | France 26.6%, US 9.5%, Saudi Arabia 9.4%, UAE 6.3%, Germany 5.2%, Japan 5.2%, UK 5.1% (2004) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 3 September 1971 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 10% (2003 est.) |
Industries | mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates | crude oil production and refining, ammonia, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel reinforcing bars, cement, commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 109.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 18.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 3% (2004 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 | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1993 est.) | 130 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Court of Appeal
note: under the new judiciary law issued in 2003, the former two court systems, civil and Islamic law, were merged under a higher court, the Court of Cassation, established for appeals |
Labor force | NA | 140,000 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | private sector 70%, public sector 30% | - |
Land boundaries | total:
535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
total: 60 km
border countries: Saudi Arabia 60 km |
Land use | arable land:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 62% forests and woodland: 7% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 98.09% (2001) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language |
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 | discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters |
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 |
unicameral Advisory Council or Majlis al-Shura (35 seats; members appointed)
note: no legislative elections have been held since 1970 when there were partial elections to the body; Council members have had their terms extended every four years since; the new constitution, which came into force on 8 June 2004, provides for a 45-member Consultative Council, or Majlis al-Shura; the public would elect two-thirds of the Majlis al-Shura; the amir would appoint the remaining members |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.62 years male: 37.86 years female: 39.4 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.67 years
male: 71.15 years female: 76.32 years (2005 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: 89% male: 89.1% female: 88.6% (2004 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Middle East, peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: as determined by bilateral agreements or the median line |
Merchant marine | - | total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 525,051 GRT/772,635 DWT
by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 5, container 8, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 6 (Kuwait 6) (2005) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force | Qatari Amiri Land Force (QALF), Qatari Amiri Navy (QAN), Qatari Amiri Air Force (QAAF) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $19.198 million (FY00/01) | $723 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.75% (FY00/01) | 10% (FY00) |
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) | Independence Day, 3 September (1971) |
Nationality | noun:
Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi |
noun: Qatari(s)
adjective: Qatari |
Natural hazards | NA | haze, dust storms, sandstorms common |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | petroleum, natural gas, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 319 km; condensate/gas 209 km; gas 1,024 km; liquid petroleum gas 87 km; oil 702 km; oil/gas/water 41 km (2004) |
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 | none |
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.) |
863,051 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.83% (2001 est.) | 2.61% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Doha |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 6 (2000) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (1998) |
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 | Protestant 55%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Muslim 95% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 2.28 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.88 male(s)/female (2005 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: modern system centered in Doha
domestic: NA international: country code - 974; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and UAE; submarine cable to Bahrain and UAE; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33,500 (2000) | 184,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2000) | 376,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (2000) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel |
Total fertility rate | 5.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (1995 est.) | 2.7% (2001) |
Waterways | none | - |