Swaziland (2007) | Kiribati (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
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: 40.2% (male 19,588; female 19,092)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 26,905; female 27,625) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 1,339; female 1,786) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 18 (2007) | 21 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
total: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | four times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 31.58 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $977 million
expenditures: $1.034 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $28.4 million
expenditures: $37.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) (2000 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) |
Tarawa |
Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,143 km |
Constitution | signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati note: pronounced kir-ih-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $484 million (2006 est.) | $10 million (1999 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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to the Marshall Islands is accredited to Kiribati |
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 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
Disputes - international | in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $46.03 million (2005) | $15.5 million (1995), largely from UK and Japan |
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. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few national resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid, from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China, is a critical supplement to GDP, equal to 25%-50% of GDP in recent years. Remittances from workers abroad account for more than $5 million each year. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.3 billion kWh (2005) | 6.51 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 460 million kWh (2005) | 7 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | predominantly Micronesian with some Polynesian |
Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) |
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 Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Teburoro TITO (since 1 October 1994); Vice President Beniamina TIINGA (since NA December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 12-member Cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among their members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held by November 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Teburoro TITO reelected president; percent of vote - Teburoro TITO 50.4%, Taberannang TIMEON 48.4%, Bakeua Bakeua TEKITA 1.2% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $6 million f.o.b. (1998) |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006) | Japan, Bangladesh, US, Australia, Brazil, Poland (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | NA |
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 | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $79 million (2001 est.), supplemented by a nearly equal amount from external sources (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 46.1% services: 41.9% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 7% services: 63% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $840 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.1% (2006 est.) | 1.5% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | - | total: 670 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: 27 km are paved in South Tarawa (2001) |
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 | $44 million c.i.f. (1999) |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006) | Australia, Japan, Fiji, Poland, US (2000) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | fishing, handicrafts |
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.) |
52.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.7% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (2001 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, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 500 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 300,000 (2006) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (1985 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
- |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 50.68% other: 49.32% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
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 | NA |
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 House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, one ex officio member - the attorney general, one appointed to represent Banaba, and one other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: first round elections last held 29 November 2002; second round elections held 6 December 2002 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 32.23 years
male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 60.54 years
male: 57.61 years female: 63.62 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007) | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.7% (2006) | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | drought | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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] | Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
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.) |
96,335 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 69% (2006) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.337% (2007 est.) | 2.28% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Banaba, Betio, English Harbour, Kanton |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
Radios | - | 17,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30% | Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, and Church of God (1999) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 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: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) note: Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service |
Telephones - main lines in use | 44,000 (2006) | 3,800 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 250,000 (2006) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.32 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (2006 est.) | 2%; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | - | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) |