Compare Swaziland (2007) - Eritrea (2008)

Compare Swaziland (2007) z Eritrea (2008)

	Swaziland (2007)	Eritrea (2008)

Administrative divisions	4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni	6 regions (zobatat, singular - zoba); Anseba, Debub (Southern), Debubawi K'eyih Bahri (Southern Red Sea), Gash Barka, Ma'akel (Central), Semenawi Keyih Bahri (Northern Red Sea)
Age structure	0-14 years: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184) 15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 43.5% (male 1,073,404/female 1,060,674) 15-64 years: 52.9% (male 1,286,613/female 1,310,294) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 85,052/female 90,548) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep	sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, sisal; livestock, goats; fish
Airports	18 (2007)	18 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007)	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2007)	total: 14 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Area	total: 17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km	total: 121,320 sq km land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly larger than Pennsylvania
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 King MSWATI III, the world's last ruling monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection.	Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two-and-a-half-year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices in December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that is monitoring a 25 km-wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) on the border with Ethiopia. An international commission, organized to resolve the border dispute, posted its findings in 2002. However, both parties have been unable to reach agreement on implementing the decision. On 30 November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission remotely demarcated the border by coordinates and dissolved itself, leaving Ethiopian still occupying several tracts of disputed territory, including the town of Badme. Eritrea accepted the EEBC's "virtual demarcation" decision and called on Ethiopia to remove its troops from the TSZ which it states is Eritrean territory. Ethiopia has not accepted the virtual demarcation decision.
Birth rate	26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	33.97 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $977 million expenditures: $1.034 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $232.7 million expenditures: $467.6 million (2007 est.)
Capital	name: Mbabane geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)	name: Asmara (Asmera) geographic coordinates: 15 20 N, 38 56 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	varies from tropical to near temperate	hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	2,234 km (mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km)
Constitution	signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006	a transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini	conventional long form: State of Eritrea conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia
Death rate	30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	9.36 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$484 million (2006 est.)	$311 million (2000 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lynn ALLISON embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959	chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald MCMULLEN embassy: 179 Alaa Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254	chief of mission: Ambassador GHIRMAI Ghebremariam chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California)
Disputes - international	in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa	Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed to abide by 2002 Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's (EEBC) delimitation decision but, neither party responded to the revised line detailed in the November 2006 EEBC Demarcation Statement; UN Peacekeeping Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has monitored the 25-km-wide Temporary Security Zone in Eritrea since 2000, is extended for six months in 2007 despite Eritrean restrictions on its operations and reduced force of 17,000; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting eastern Sudanese rebel groups
Economic aid - recipient	$46.03 million (2005)	$355.2 million (2005)
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 more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% 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 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.	Since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country, accentuated by the recent implementation of restrictive economic policies. Eritrea has a command economy under the control of the sole political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth fell to zero in 1999 and to -12.1% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges. Since the war ended, the government has maintained a firm grip on the economy, expanding the use of the military and party-owned businesses to complete Eritrea's development agenda. The government strictly controls the use of foreign currency, limiting access and availability. Few private enterprises remain in Eritrea. Eritrea's economy is heavily dependent on taxes paid by members of the diaspora. Erratic rainfall and the delayed demobilization of agriculturalists from the military continue to interfere with agricultural production, and Eritrea's recent harvests have not been able to meet the food needs of the country. The government continues to place its hope for additional revenue on the development of several international mining projects. Despite difficulties for international companies in working with the Eritrean government, a Canadian mining company signed a contract with the GSE in 2007 and plans to begin mineral extraction in 2010. Eritrea also anticipates opening a free trade zone at the port of Massawa in 2008. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master social problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and more importantly, on the government's willingness to support a true market economy.
Electricity - consumption	1.3 billion kWh (2005)	228 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005)	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production	460 million kWh (2005)	274 million kWh (2005)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m	lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m highest point: Soira 3,018 m
Environment - current issues	limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion	deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, 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, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	African 97%, European 3%	Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3%
Exchange rates	emalangeni per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002)	nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 15.5 (2007), 15.4 (2006), 14.5 (2005), 13.788 (2004), 13.878 (2003) note: the official exchange rate is 15 nakfa to the dollar
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 from among the elected members of the House of Assembly	chief of state: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly head of government: President ISAIAS Afworki (since 8 June 1993) cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); the most recent and only election held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95%, other 5%
Exports	NA bbl/day	54.59 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities	soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit	livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures (2000)
Exports - partners	South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006)	Italy 26.7%, France 13.8%, Australia 8.2%, Sudan 7.9%, US 7.8%, China 6.2%, Saudi Arabia 5.5%, Jordan 5.2% (2006)
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 isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 11.9% industry: 46.1% services: 41.9% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 21.7% industry: 22.6% services: 55.7% (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.1% (2006 est.)	2% (2007 est.)
Geographic coordinates	26 30 S, 31 30 E	15 00 N, 39 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa	strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993
Heliports	-	1 (2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 40.7% (2001)	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Imports	NA bbl/day	4,924 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities	motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals	machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods
Imports - partners	South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006)	Italy 15.8%, Saudi Arabia 15.7%, China 15.6%, Netherlands 6.7%, Turkey 6.2%, Germany 5.3%, Brazil 4.3% (2006)
Independence	6 September 1968 (from UK)	24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia)
Industrial production growth rate	3.7% (FY95/96)	2% (2007 est.)
Industries	coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel	food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles, light manufacturing, salt, cement
Infant mortality rate	total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 45.24 deaths/1,000 live births male: 51.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 39.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	5.7% (2006 est.)	15.5% (2007 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, LAS (observer), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Irrigated land	500 sq km (2003)	210 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch	High Court - regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts
Labor force	300,000 (2006)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (2004 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km	total: 1,626 km border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km
Land use	arable land: 10.25% permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005)	arable land: 4.78% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 95.19% (2005)
Languages	English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)	Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Legal system	based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; government also issues unilateral proclamations setting laws and policies; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Islamic law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in 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 (150 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly, which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinitely
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 32.23 years male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 est.)	total population: 59.55 years male: 57.88 years female: 61.28 years (2007 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: 58.6% male: 69.9% female: 47.6% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa	Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Map references	Africa	Africa
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	territorial sea: 12 nm
Merchant marine	-	total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,529 GRT/15,023 DWT by type: cargo 2, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2007)
Military branches	Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007)	Eritrean Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (2008)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.7% (2006)	6.3% (2006 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 September (1968)	Independence Day, 24 May (1993)
Nationality	noun: Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi	noun: Eritrean(s) adjective: Eritrean
Natural hazards	drought	frequent droughts; locust swarms
Natural resources	asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc	gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders	the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]	People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ [ISAIAS Afworki] (the only party recognized by the government); note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly has not yet debated or voted on it
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ (also including Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement or EIJM (also known as the Abu Sihel Movement)); Eritrean Islamic Salvation or EIS (also known as the Arafa Movement); Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean National Alliance or ENA (a coalition including EIJ, EIS, ELF, and a number of ELF factions) [HERUY Tedla Biru]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob]; Eritrean Democratic Party (EDP) [HAGOS, Mesfin]
Population	1,133,066 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 2007 est.)	4,906,585 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	69% (2006)	50% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.337% (2007 est.)	2.461% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004)	AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000)
Railways	total: 301 km narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)	total: 306 km narrow gauge: 306 km 0.950-m gauge (2006)
Religions	Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30%	Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.939 male(s)/female total population: 0.993 male(s)/female (2007 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: inadequate domestic: inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: country code - 291; note - international connections exist
Telephones - main lines in use	44,000 (2006)	37,700 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular	250,000 (2006)	62,000 (2006)
Television broadcast stations	12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004)	2 (2006)
Terrain	mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains	dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains
Total fertility rate	3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.)	4.96 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	40% (2006 est.)	NA%

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