Swaziland (2004) | Jamaica (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland |
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:
29.7% (male 405,189; female 386,555) 15-64 years: 63.52% (male 845,226; female 847,944) 65 years and over: 6.78% (male 80,667; female 100,055) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
total:
24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
10,990 sq km land: 10,830 sq km water: 160 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 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 | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 18.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $462.4 million
expenditures: $563.4 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2003) |
revenues:
$2.23 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Kingston |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,022 km |
Constitution | a constitution was adopted 14 November 2003 | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Death rate | 23.06 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $320 million (2002 est.) | $4.7 billion (2000 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 Stanley Louis MCLELLAND embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743 |
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 Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | $102.7 million (1995) |
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. | Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal policies have helped slow inflation - although inflationary pressures are mounting - and stabilize the exchange rate, but have resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995). In 1996, GDP showed negative growth (-1.4%) and remained negative through 1999. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment portfolios to non-productive, short-term high yield instruments; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions in 1999-2000 led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, stabilizing the labor environment, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 962.9 million kWh (2001) | 6.073 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 639 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 348.3 million kWh (2001) | 6.53 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
92.28% hydro: 1.36% nuclear: 0% other: 6.36% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 45.557 (January 2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (1996) |
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), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | NA (2001) | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum |
Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5% (1999) | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) |
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 | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.702 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.2%
industry: 43.2% services: 40.5% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
7.4% industry: 35.2% services: 57.4% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | 0.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal |
Highways | total: 3,247 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (1998) |
total:
19,000 km paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 28.9% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern |
Imports | NA (2001) | $3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers |
Imports - partners | South Africa 88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products |
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.) |
14.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.3% (2003 est.) | 8.8% (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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 383,200 (2000) | 1.13 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) |
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:
14% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 17% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | English, Creole |
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; 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 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 50, JLP 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37.54 years
male: 39.1 years female: 35.94 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
75.42 years male: 73.45 years female: 77.49 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:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,930 GRT/3,065 DWT ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army, including Air Wing) | Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $29 million (2003) | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 289,985 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
736,627 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 168,257 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
517,077 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
27,729 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun:
Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | drought | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -7.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 10 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] | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
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.) |
2,665,636 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1995) | 34.2% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.55% (2004 est.) | 0.51% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.215 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
total:
370 km standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite |
Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 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:
fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 46,200 (2003) | 353,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 88,000 (2003) | 54,640 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 3.81 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |