Swaziland (2005) | Uruguay (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio Negro, Rivera, Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta y Tres |
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: 23.2% (male 403,041/female 389,427)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 1,076,960/female 1,095,833) 65 years and over: 13.2% (male 183,877/female 266,782) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish |
Airports | 18 (2004 est.) | 64 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
total: 50
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
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 | Montevideo, founded by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to became an important commercial center. Annexed by Brazil as a separate province in 1821, Uruguay declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. The administrations of President BATLLE in the early 20th century established widespread political, social, and economic reforms. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement, the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to agree to military control of his administration in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold throughout the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. |
Birth rate | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 14.09 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $494.6 million
expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $3.332 billion
expenditures: $3.787 billion, including capital expenditures of $193 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Montevideo |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 660 km |
Constitution | a constitution was due to be adopted in November 2003 but was delayed and scheduled for early 2005 | 27 November 1966, effective February 1967; suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
conventional long form: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
conventional short form: Uruguay local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay local short form: Uruguay former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province |
Death rate | 25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 9.06 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $320 million (2002 est.) | $12.8 billion (March 2004) |
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 Martin J. SILVERSTEIN
embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777 FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611 |
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 Carlos GIANELLI Derois
chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York consulate(s): San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | NA |
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. | Uruguay's well-to-do economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn, stemming largely from the spillover effects of the economic problems of its large neighbors, Argentina and Brazil. For instance, in 2001-02 massive withdrawals by Argentina of dollars deposited in Uruguayan banks led to a plunge in the Uruguyan peso and a massive rise in unemployment. Total GDP in these four years dropped by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year due to the serious banking crisis. Unemployment rose to nearly 20% in 2002, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Cooperation with the IMF limited the damage. The debt swap with private creditors carried out in 2003, which extended the maturity dates on nearly half of Uruguay's $11.3 billion in public debt, substantially alleviated the country's amortization burden in the coming years and restored public confidence. The economy grew about 10% in 2004 as a result of high commodity prices for Uruguayan exports, the weakness of the dollar against the euro, growth in the region, low international interest rates, and greater export competitiveness. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.173 billion kWh (2002) | 5.878 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 954 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002) | 434.2 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 402 million kWh (2002) | 8.536 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent) |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000) | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 28.704 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 21.257 (2002), 13.319 (2001), 12.1 (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 Tabare VAZQUEZ (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tabare VAZQUEZ (since 1 March 2005) and Vice President Rodolfo NIN NOVA (since 1 March 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Tabare VAZQUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Tabare VAZQUEZ 50.5%, Jorge LARRANAGA 35.1%, Guillermo STIRLING 10.3% |
Exports | NA | NA |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | meat, rice, leather products, wool, fish, dairy products |
Exports - partners | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) | US 17.3%, Brazil 16%, Germany 6.3%, Argentina 6.2%, Mexico 4.2% (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 | nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 7.9%
industry: 27.4% services: 64.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2004 est.) | 10.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 33 00 S, 56 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising |
Highways | total: 3,107 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (2000) |
total: 8,983 km
paved: 8,081 km unpaved: 902 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1997) |
Imports | NA | NA |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum |
Imports - partners | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) | Argentina 19.5%, Brazil 19%, Paraguay 12.9%, US 9.2%, China 6% (2004) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 22% (2004 est.) |
Industries | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
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: 11.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.4% (2004 est.) | 7.6% (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 | CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
Labor force | 383,200 (2000) | 1.56 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture 14%, industry 16%, services 70% |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
arable land: 7.43%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 92.34% (2001) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
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 Spanish civil law system; accepts 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 October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 2004 (next to be held October 2009) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 16, Blanco 11, Colorado Party 3; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - EP-FA 52, Blanco 36, Colorado Party 10, Independent Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 33.22 years
male: 32.49 years female: 33.98 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 76.13 years
male: 72.92 years female: 79.45 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: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,918 GRT/10,342 DWT
by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 4 (Argentina 3, Greece 1) registered in other countries: 8 (2005) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) | Army, Navy (includes Naval Air Arm, Marines, Maritime Prefecture in wartime), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $40.5 million (2004) | $257.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2004) | 2% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
Natural hazards | drought | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 192 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] | Colorado Party [Jorge BATLLE Ibanez]; National Party or Blanco [Luis Alberto LACALLE Herrera]; New Sector/Space Coalition (Nuevo Espacio) [Rafael MICHELINI]; Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition (Encuentro Progresista/Frente Amplio) or EP-FA [Tabare VAZQUEZ]; Independent Party (Partido Independiente) [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Agrupacion UTE (powerful state worker's union), Rural Association of Uruguay (rancher's association), Uruguayan Construction League, Chamber of Uruguayan Industries (manufacturer's association), Chemist and Pharmaceutical Association (professional organization), Architect's Society of Uruguay (professional organization), the Catholic Church, students |
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.) |
3,415,920 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1995) | 21% of households (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.25% (2005 est.) | 0.47% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Montevideo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) | AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
total: 2,073 km
standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge note: 461 km have been taken out of service and 460 km are in partial use (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 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 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: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network international: country code - 598; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 46,200 (2003) | 946,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 88,000 (2003) | 652,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2004) | 23 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 3.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.91 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 13% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,600 km (2002) |