Swaziland (2004) | Angola (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41% (male 242,090; female 237,395)
15-64 years: 55.3% (male 323,004; female 324,029) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 18,685; female 24,038) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.3% (male 2,318,326; female 2,272,726)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 2,904,595; female 2,806,430) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 131,316; female 159,778) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 244 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 32
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
total: 211
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 80 (2002) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
Background | 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 the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection | Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence from Portugal in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. A national unity government was installed in April of 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. The death of insurgent leader Jonas SAVIMBI in 2002 and a subsequent cease fire with UNITA may bode well for the country. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 46.18 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $462.4 million
expenditures: $563.4 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2003) |
revenues: $928 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $963 million |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Luanda |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,600 km |
Constitution | a constitution was adopted 14 November 2003 | 11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | kwanza (AOA) |
Death rate | 23.06 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 24.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $320 million (2002 est.) | $10.4 billion (2001 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 Christopher William DELL
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: American Embassy Luanda, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (2) 445-481, 447-028, 446-224 FAX: [244] (2) 446-924 |
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 Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKIDI
chancery: 1615 M Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston and New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | $383.5 million (1999) |
Economy - overview | 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 about nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends nearly three-quarters 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 2002 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS. | Angola is an economy in disarray because of a quarter century of nearly continuous warfare. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Violence continues, millions of land mines remain, and many farmers are reluctant to return to their fields. As a result, much of the country's food must still be imported. To fully take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to end its conflict and continue reforming government policies. Internal strife discourages investment outside of the petroleum sector, which is producing roughly 800,000 barrels of oil per day. While Angola made progress in bringing inflation down further, from over 300% in 2000 to about 110% in 2001, the government has failed to make sufficient progress on reforms recommended by the IMF, such as increasing foreign exchange reserves and promoting greater transparency in government spending. Angola's GDP could be among the world's fastest growing in 2002 if oil production from the Girassol field, which began production in December 2001, reaches 200,000 barrels per day as expected. |
Electricity - consumption | 962.9 million kWh (2001) | 1.107 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 639 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 348.3 million kWh (2001) | 1.19 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 40%
hydro: 60% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and Native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | kwanza per US dollar - 32.8716 (January 2002), 22.058 (2001), 10.041 (2000), 2.791 (1999), 0.393 (1998), 0.229 (1997); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued with six zeroes dropped off the old value |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002, but this is not a position of real power cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a NA-year term; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed |
Exports | NA (2001) | $7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | crude oil 90%, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton |
Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5% (1999) | US 44.5%, EU 17.3%, China 22.7%, South Korea 8.1% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.702 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $13.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.2%
industry: 43.2% services: 40.5% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 70% services: 24% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,330 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | 5.4% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 12 30 S, 18 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | Cabinda is separated from rest of country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Highways | total: 3,247 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (1998) |
total: 76,626 km
paved: 19,156 km unpaved: 57,470 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods |
Imports - partners | South Africa 88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) | EU 47.4%, South Korea 16%, South Africa 15.9%, US 11.3%, Brazil 5.5% (2000) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | NA% |
Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing; brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 68.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 71.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
191.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.3% (2003 est.) | 110% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court or Tribunal da Relacao (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 383,200 (2000) | 5 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
arable land: 2.41%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 97.19% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages |
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 Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets |
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 18 October 2003 (next to be held NA 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, others 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, others 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37.54 years
male: 39.1 years female: 35.94 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 38.87 years
male: 37.62 years female: 40.18 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42% male: 56% female: 28% (1998 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,305 GRT/63,528 DWT
ships by type: cargo 8, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army, including Air Wing) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, National Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $29 million (2003) | $1.2 billion (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | 22% (1999) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 289,985 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,532,469 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 168,257 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,272,509 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 103,807 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
Natural hazards | drought | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 179 km |
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 Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president] | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [interim leader: Paulo Lukamba "GATO"], largest opposition party has engaged in years of armed resistance; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS], ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]; UNITA-Renovada [Secretary General: Jorge VALENTIM], party officially reunited with UNITA in October 2002
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats and have little influence in the National Assembly |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO; Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province |
Population | 1,169,241
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 2004 est.) |
10,593,171 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1995) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.55% (2004 est.) | 2.18% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Ambriz, Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Malongo, Mocamedes, Namibe, Porto Amboim, Soyo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000) |
Radios | - | 815,000 (2000) |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
total: 2,771 km (inland, much of the track is unusable because of land mines still in place from the civil war)
narrow gauge: 2,648 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2000 est.) |
Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 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: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military links
domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 46,200 (2003) | 72,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 88,000 (2003) | 25,800 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | 6 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau |
Total fertility rate | 3.81 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 6.43 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,295 km |