Compare Swaziland (2005) - Nicaragua (2005)

Compare Swaziland (2005) z Nicaragua (2005)

	Swaziland (2005)	Nicaragua (2005)

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: 37.2% (male 1,036,487/female 999,226) 15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,623,065/female 1,638,017) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 73,935/female 94,370) (2005 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 (2004 est.)
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 (2004 est.)
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 (2004 est.)
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.)	24.88 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $494.6 million expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.)	revenues: $725.5 million expenditures: $1.039 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 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; 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
Death rate	25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	4.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$320 million (2002 est.)	$4.573 billion (2004 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: Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010 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, [1] (202) 939-6573 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6545 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
Disputes - international	none	Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; the 1992 ICJ ruling for El Salvador and Honduras advised a tripartite resolution to establish a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca, which considers Honduran access to the Pacific; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica
Economic aid - recipient	$104 million (2001)	$541.8 million (2003)
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, massive unemployment, 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, GDP annual growth has been far too low to meet the country's needs. As a result of successful performance under its International Monetary Fund policy program and other efforts, Nicaragua qualified in early 2004 for some $4 billion in foreign debt reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Even after this reduction, however, the government continues to bear a significant foreign and domestic debt burden. If ratified, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will provide an opportunity for Nicaragua to attract investment, create jobs, and deepen economic development. While President BOLANOS enjoys the support of the international financial bodies, his internal political base is meager.
Electricity - consumption	1.173 billion kWh (2002)	2.318 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2002)	6.8 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002)	15.3 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	402 million kWh (2002)	2.553 billion kWh (2002)
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, 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 - 15.937 (2004), 15.105 (2003), 14.251 (2002), 13.372 (2001), 12.684 (2000)
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 (PCN) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president
Exports	NA	738 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit	coffee, beef, shrimp and lobster, tobacco, sugar, gold, peanuts
Exports - partners	South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004)	US 64.8%, El Salvador 7%, Mexico 3.6% (2004)
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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 16.1% industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 20.7% industry: 24.7% services: 54.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.5% (2004 est.)	4% (2004 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: 18,712 km paved: 2,126 km unpaved: 16,586 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1% highest 10%: 50.2% (1995)	lowest 10%: 1.2% highest 10%: 45% (2001)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing
Imports	NA	27,950 bbl/day (2003)
Imports - commodities	motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals	consumer goods, machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products
Imports - partners	South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004)	US 22.6%, Costa Rica 8.5%, Venezuela 8.4%, Guatemala 6.8%, Mexico 5.8%, El Salvador 4.9%, South Korea 4.5% (2004)
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: 29.11 deaths/1,000 live births male: 32.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5.4% (2004 est.)	9.3% (2004 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, 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), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
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)	1.93 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	NA	agriculture 30.5%, industry 17.3%, services 52.2% (2003 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: 15.94% permanent crops: 1.94% other: 82.12% (2001)
Languages	English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) 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 (92 seats; members are elected by proportional representation and party lists to serve five-year terms; one seat for previous President, one seat for runner-up in previous Presidential election 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 PCCN, PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCN 2.12%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 53, FSLN 38, PCN 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 33.22 years male: 32.49 years female: 33.98 years (2005 est.)	total population: 70.33 years male: 68.27 years female: 72.49 years (2005 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	Central 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)	territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: natural prolongation
Military branches	Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005)	Army (includes Navy, Air Force)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$40.5 million (2004)	$32.8 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.4% (2004)	0.7% (2004)
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.)	-1.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	oil 54 km (2004)
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]	Alliance for the Republic or APRE [Miguel LOPEZ Baldizon, Oscar WENDOLYN Vargas, Karla WHITE]; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [leader NA]; Christian Alternative Party or AC [Orlando TARDENCILLA Espinoza]; Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Mario RAPPACCIOLI]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Anibal MARTINEZ Nunez, Pedro REYES Vallejos]; Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN [leader NA]; Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC [Jorge CASTILLO Quant]; Liberal Salvation Movement or MSL [Eliseo NUNEZ Hernandez]; New Liberal Party or PALI [leader NA]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO Molina]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [leader NA]; Unity Alliance or AU [leader NA]
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.)	5,465,100 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (1995)	50% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	0.25% (2005 est.)	1.92% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff
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 (2004)
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 72.9%, Evangelical 15.1%, Moravian 1.5%, Episcopal 0.1%, other 1.9%, none 8.5% (1995 census)
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 (2005 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: country code - 505; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	46,200 (2003)	171,600 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	88,000 (2003)	202,800 (2002)
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.)	2.81 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	34% (2000 est.)	7.8% plus underemployment of 46.5% (2003 est.)
Waterways	-	2,220 km (including lakes Managua and Nicaragua) (1997)

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