Swaziland (2004) | Vietnam (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong, Hai Phong*, Ha Nam, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi Minh*, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai |
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: 30.2% (male 12,699,002; female 11,967,674)
15-64 years: 64.2% (male 25,776,600; female 26,599,005) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 1,902,464; female 2,679,971) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 18 (2003 est.) | 47 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
total: 23
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 12 (2002) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly larger than New Mexico |
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 | France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the North. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market. |
Birth rate | 28.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 19.58 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $462.4 million
expenditures: $563.4 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2003) |
revenues: $5.3 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion (1999 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Hanoi |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Constitution | a constitution was adopted 14 November 2003 | 15 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV |
Currency | lilangeni (SZL) | dong (VND) |
Death rate | 23.06 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $320 million (2002 est.) | $14.1 billion (2001) |
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 Raymond F. BURGHARDT
embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 772-1500 FAX: [84] (4) 772-1510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City |
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 Nguyen Tam CHIEN
chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | demarcation of the land boundary with China continues, but maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement remains unratified; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in a complex dispute over Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct" |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | $2.1 billion in credits and grants pledged by international donors for 2000 |
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. | Vietnam is a poor, densely-populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point - growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy but, rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government's belief that shifting to a market-oriented economy would lead to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 6% to 7% in 2000-02 even against the background of global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers. Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to significantly increase Vietnam's exports to the US. The US is assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms called for in the agreement. |
Electricity - consumption | 962.9 million kWh (2001) | 27.71 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 639 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 348.3 million kWh (2001) | 29.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 43.7%
hydro: 56.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer, Cham, mountain groups |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999) | dong per US dollar - 15,325.8 (2002), 14,725.2 (2001), 14,167.7 (2000), 13,943.2 (1999), 13,268 (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: President Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Vu KHOAN (since NA) and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in 2007); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: Tran Duc LUONG elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5% (1999) | US 15.2%, Japan 14.9%, Australia 7.6%, China 6.6%, Germany 6.5%, Singapore 5.5%, UK 4.3% (2002) |
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 | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.702 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $183.8 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.2%
industry: 43.2% services: 40.5% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 24%
industry: 37% services: 39% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | 7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 16 00 N, 106 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point |
Highways | total: 3,247 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (1998) |
total: 93,300 km
paved: 23,418 km unpaved: 69,882 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 29.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
Imports - partners | South Africa 88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) | South Korea 12.7%, China 12.2%, Japan 12.1%, Singapore 11.8%, Taiwan 10.6%, Thailand 5.4% (2002) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 10.2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper |
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.) |
total: 30.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 26.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.3% (2003 est.) | 3.9% (2002 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 | ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 30,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president) |
Labor force | 383,200 (2000) | 38.2 million (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 63%, industry and services 37% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
arable land: 17.41%
permanent crops: 4.71% other: 77.88% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
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 communist legal theory and French civil law system |
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 Quoc-Hoi (498 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 May 2002 (next to be held 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 90%, other 10% (the 10% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV 447, CPV-approved 51 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37.54 years
male: 39.1 years female: 35.94 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 70.05 years
male: 67.58 years female: 72.7 years (2003 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: 94% male: 95.8% female: 92.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Map references | Africa | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 180 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,054,423 GRT/1,588,732 DWT
ships by type: bulk 13, cargo 128, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 9, liquefied gas 4, petroleum tanker 21, refrigerated cargo 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cambodia 1, Japan 1, Singapore 1, UK 2 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army, including Air Wing) | People's Army of Vietnam (includes Ground Forces, People's Navy Command [including Naval Infantry], Air and Air Defense Force, Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $29 million (2003) | $650 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | 2.5% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 289,985 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 22,888,109 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 168,257 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 14,366,732 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 871,036 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese |
Natural hazards | drought | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 432 km; gas 210 km; oil 3 km; refined products 206 km (2003) |
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] | only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH, general secretary] |
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.) |
81,624,716 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1995) | 37% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.55% (2004 est.) | 1.29% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
total: 3,142 km
standard gauge: 209 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,625 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 308 km three-rail track combining 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (2002) |
Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim |
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: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 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: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors
domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; since 1991, main lines in use have been substantially increased and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 46,200 (2003) | 2.6 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 88,000 (2003) | 730,155 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | at least 7 (plus 13 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Total fertility rate | 3.81 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.24 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 25% (1995 est.) |
Waterways | - | 17,702 km
note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft |