Swaziland (2002) | Trinidad and Tobago (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 9 regional corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, and 1 ward
regional corporations: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco city corporations: Port-of-Spain, San Fernando; borough corporations: Arima, Point Fortin, Chaguanas ward: Tobago |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.5% (male 254,573; female 256,677)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645; female 301,071) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.7% (male 115,594/female 109,665)
15-64 years: 71% (male 403,301/female 369,664) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 40,638/female 49,782) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | cocoa, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 18 (2001) | 6 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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. | The islands came under British control in the 19th century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. |
Birth rate | 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.81 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02 ) |
revenues: $3.25 billion
expenditures: $3.193 billion, including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Port-of-Spain |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | tropical; rainy season (June to December) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 362 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 August 1976 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | - |
Death rate | 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $336 million (2001 est.) | $2.94 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
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 Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6372 through 6376, 622-6176 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
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 Marina Annette VALERE
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom | Barbados will assert its claim before UNCLOS that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into its waters; Guyana has also expressed its intention to challenge this boundary as it may extend into its waters as well |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | $24 million (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% 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 nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than 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 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative. | Trinidad and Tobago, the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a growing trade surplus. Prospects for growth in 2004 are good as prices for oil, petrochemicals, and liquified natural gas are expected to remain high, and foreign direct investment continues to grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime. |
Electricity - consumption | 900.66 million kWh (2000) | 5.341 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 564 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (2000) |
0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 362 million kWh (2000) | 5.743 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 56%
hydro: 44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion |
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, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | Indian (South Asian) 40%, African 37.5%, mixed 20.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.8% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.299 (2004), 6.2951 (2003), 6.2487 (2002), 6.2332 (2001), 6.2998 (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: President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term; election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held in 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
Exports | $702 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers |
Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999) | US 67.1%, Jamaica 5.7%, France 3.5% (2004) |
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 | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 43% services: 47% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 47% services: 50.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 5.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 11 00 N, 61 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt |
Highways | total: 3,800 km
paved: 1,064 km unpaved: 2,736 km (2002) |
total: 8,320 km
paved: 4,252 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis |
Imports | $850 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals |
Imports - partners | South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000) | US 23.9%, Venezuela 11.5%, Germany 11.2%, Brazil 10.7%, Spain 6.4%, Italy 5.1% (2004) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 31 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 7.2% (2004 est.) |
Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 109.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 24.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.23 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.5% (2001 est.) | 3.3% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London |
Labor force | NA | 590,000 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 9.5%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, construction and utilities 12.4%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.77%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 89.53% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (2001) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese |
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 English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-year terms |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37 years
male: 36.35 years female: 37.66 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 66.73 years
male: 65.6 years female: 67.91 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.3% male: 78% female: 78.4% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,178 GRT/3,633 DWT
by type: passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (United States 1) registered in other countries: 4 (2005) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force: Ground Force, Coast Guard (includes Air Wing) (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY01/02) | $66.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.75% (FY00/01) | 0.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 146,805 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
Natural hazards | drought | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -10.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 253 km; gas 1,117 km; oil 478 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - 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] | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TU [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]; Democratic Action Committee or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES], note - only active in Tobago |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Jamaat-al Muslimeen [Yasin BAKR] |
Population | 1,123,605
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 2002 est.) |
1,088,644 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 21% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.63% (2002 est.) | -0.74% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Pointe-a-Pierre, Point Lisas, Port-of-Spain |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 4, FM 18, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 170,000 (1999) | - |
Railways | total: 297 km
narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 71 km which are not in use (2001) |
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Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other Christian 5.8%, Muslim 5.8%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-868; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,500 (2001) | 325,100 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 45,000 (2001) | 361,900 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | 4 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains |
Total fertility rate | 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 10.4% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |