West Bank (2006) | Swaziland (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42.9% (male 541,110/female 515,202)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 676,427/female 644,347) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 35,440/female 47,966) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.7% (male 233,169/female 229,103)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 303,260/female 330,460) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 16,071/female 24,271) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 18 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2006) |
Area | total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provided that Israel would retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifada that broke out in September 2000. In April 2003 the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT died in November 2004 and Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA President in January 2005, bringing hope of a turning point in the conflict. Israel and the PA agreed in February 2005 to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments, focused on security issues, in an effort to move the peace process forward. Progress has been slow because of different interpretations of the verbal agreement by the two sides. | 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. |
Birth rate | 31.67 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 27.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $964 million
expenditures: $1.34 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA; note - these budget data include Gaza Strip (2004) |
revenues: $805.6 million
expenditures: $957.1 million; including capital expenditures of $147 million (2005 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) |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | the first constitution was signed into law in July 2005 and is scheduled to be implemented in January 2006 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
Death rate | 3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 29.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $0; note - includes Gaza Strip (2002) | $357 million (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Lewis LUCKE
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 |
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 |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.14 billion; note - includes Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | $104 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- has experienced a general decline in economic growth and a degradation in economic conditions made worse since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of the Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and commodity market relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the Gaza Strip, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israeli settlements, or in joint industrial zones, have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities, due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally, stymied growth. | 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 two-thirds 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 1.161 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 821.4 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 392 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001) | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001) |
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 |
Exports | $270 million f.o.b.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 51.5% services: 36.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2004 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
Imports | $1.952 billion c.i.f.; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2004) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) |
Independence | - | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 19.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 71.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 68.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (includes Gaza Strip) (2003 est.) | 4% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, 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 |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | 500 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 614,000 (April-June 2005) | 155,700 (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18.4%
industry: 24% services: 57.6% (April-June 2005) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (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 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.27 years
male: 71.5 years female: 75.15 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 32.62 years
male: 32.1 years female: 33.17 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | - | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $41.6 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | droughts | drought |
Natural resources | arable land | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | 2.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | political parties are banned by the government under an emergency decree that will be revoked when the new constitution takes effect (January 2006)- the following are considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,460,492
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
1,136,334
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 46% including Gaza Strip (2004 est.) | 69% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 3.06% (2006 est.) | -0.23% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 20, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 357,300 (includes Gaza Strip) (2004) | 35,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 200,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2005) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 4.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.53 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 19.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (January-September 2005) | 40% (2005 est.) |