Swaziland (2005) | Nicaragua (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.6% (male 240,643/female 235,895)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 327,661/female 325,400) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 19,273/female 25,028) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 984,719; female 949,282)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,510,352; female 1,527,991) 65 years and over: 3% (male 68,332; female 87,841) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 18 (2004 est.) | 176 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2002) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
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 Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 26.29 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $494.6 million
expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $726 million
expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Managua |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 910 km |
Constitution | a constitution was due to be adopted in November 2003 but was delayed and scheduled for early 2005 | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | - | gold cordoba (NIO) |
Death rate | 25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $320 million (2002 est.) | $5.8 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Lewis LUCKE
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 Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010, 266-2298, 266-6013 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
Disputes - international | none | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | Substantial foreign support |
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 2004 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should move up moderately in 2003 because of increased private investment and exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.173 billion kWh (2002) | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002) | 17 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 402 million kWh (2002) | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 83.9%
hydro: 7.7% nuclear: 0% other: 8.4% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.25 (2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.68 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (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 Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold |
Exports - partners | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) | US 59.4%, El Salvador 7.5%, Honduras 4.8% (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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $11.16 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 26% services: 44% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2004 est.) | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total: 3,107 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (2000) |
total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) | US 23.7%, Costa Rica 10.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Guatemala 7.8%, Mexico 6.7%, El Salvador 6%, South Korea 4.6% (2002) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | total: 69.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 31.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 35.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.4% (2004 est.) | 3.7% (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 | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 880 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 383,200 (2000) | 1.7 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
arable land: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
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 | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
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 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 Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 33.22 years
male: 32.49 years female: 33.98 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 69.68 years
male: 67.68 years female: 71.79 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: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $40.5 million (2004) | $26 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2004) | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,347,033 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 825,906 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 59,903 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | drought | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 54 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | political parties are banned by the government - 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] | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 1,173,900
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 2005 est.) |
5,128,517 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1995) | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.25% (2005 est.) | 2.03% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (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% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age | 16 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: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 46,200 (2003) | 140,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 88,000 (2003) | 7,911 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2004) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 3.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) |