Swaziland (2004) | Libya (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
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:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 136 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
total:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly larger than Alaska |
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 | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $462.4 million
expenditures: $563.4 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2003) |
revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Tripoli |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,770 km |
Constitution | a constitution was adopted 14 November 2003 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 23.06 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $320 million (2002 est.) | $4.1 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 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
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 |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | none | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | $8.4 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. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. |
Electricity - consumption | 962.9 million kWh (2001) | 17.577 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) | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
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:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | crude oil, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5% (1999) | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) |
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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.702 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.2%
industry: 43.2% services: 40.5% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | 6.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | - |
Highways | total: 3,247 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (1998) |
total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | South Africa 88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | NA% |
Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
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.) |
28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.3% (2003 est.) | 18.5% (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 | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 383,200 (2000) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
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 Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; 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 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37.54 years
male: 39.1 years female: 35.94 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 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:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | - | total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army, including Air Wing) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $29 million (2003) | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | 3.9% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 289,985 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 168,257 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | drought | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
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.) |
5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1995) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.55% (2004 est.) | 2.42% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.35 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | Sunni Muslim 97% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 46,200 (2003) | 380,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 88,000 (2003) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 3.81 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 30% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |