Swaziland (2004) | Guernsey (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including St. Peter Port, St. Sampson, Vale, Castel, St. Saviour, St. Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, St. Martin, St. Andrew |
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:
16.22% (male 5,285; female 5,151) 15-64 years: 66.67% (male 21,264; female 21,630) 65 years and over: 17.11% (male 4,546; female 6,466) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
194 sq km land: 194 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
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 | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.9 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $462.4 million
expenditures: $563.4 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2003) |
revenues:
$381.3 million expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Saint Peter Port |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 50 km |
Constitution | a constitution was adopted 14 November 2003 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form:
Bailiwick of Guernsey conventional short form: Guernsey |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound |
Death rate | 23.06 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $320 million (2002 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
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 |
none (British crown dependency) |
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 |
none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | $NA |
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. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the rules of the game under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | 962.9 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - imports | 639 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 348.3 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | UK and Norman-French descent |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000) and Bailiff De Vic G. CAREY (since NA) cabinet: Advisory and Finance Committee appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; bailiff appointed by the monarch |
Exports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5% (1999) | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
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 | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.702 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.2%
industry: 43.2% services: 40.5% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | 5.7% (1999 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Highways | total: 3,247 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (1998) |
total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | South Africa 88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | NA% |
Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | tourism, banking |
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.) |
5 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.3% (2003 est.) | 3.99% (2000 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 | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Royal Court |
Labor force | 383,200 (2000) | 31,322 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | - |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
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 | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
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 Assembly of the States; consists of the Bailiff, 10 Douzaine (parish council) representatives, 45 People's Deputies elected by popular franchise, 2 Alderney representatives, HM Procureur (Attorney General), HM Comptroller (Solicitor General) and HM Greffier (Court Recorder and Registrar General)
elections: last held 12 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37.54 years
male: 39.1 years female: 35.94 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
79.78 years male: 76.78 years female: 82.88 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone:
12 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army, including Air Wing) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $29 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 289,985 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 168,257 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun:
Channel Islander(s) adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | drought | NA |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | cropland |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
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] | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
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.) |
64,342 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1995) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.55% (2004 est.) | 0.39% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
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:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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:
NA domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 46,200 (2003) | 44,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 88,000 (2003) | 12,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 3.81 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |