215 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
215 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
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SWAZILAND
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 17,360 km2; land area: 17,200 km2
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than New Jersey
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Land boundaries: 535 km total; Mozambique 105 km, South Africa
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430 km
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Coastline: none--landlocked
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Maritime claims: none--landlocked
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Climate: varies from tropical to near temperate
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Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains
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Natural resources: asbestos, coal, clay, tin, hydropower, forests,
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and small gold and diamond deposits
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Land use: arable land 8%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
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pastures 67%; forest and woodland 6%; other 19%; includes irrigated
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2%
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Environment: overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
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Note: landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
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PEOPLE
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Population: 859,336 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991)
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Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 101 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 59 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 6.2 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Swazi(s); adjective--Swazi
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Ethnic divisions: African 97%, European 3%
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Religion: Christian 60%, indigenous beliefs 40%
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Language: English and siSwati (official); government business
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conducted in English
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Literacy: 55% (male 57%, female 54%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1976)
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Labor force: 195,000; over 60,000 engaged in subsistence
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agriculture; about 92,000 wage earners (many only intermittently), with
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agriculture and forestry 36%, community and social services 20%,
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manufacturing 14%, construction 9%, other 21%; 24,000-29,000 employed in
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South Africa (1987)
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Organized labor: about 10% of wage earners
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Kingdom of Swaziland
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Type: monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth
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Capital: Mbabane (administrative); Lobamba (legislative)
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Administrative divisions: 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini,
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Shiselweni
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Independence: 6 September 1968 (from UK)
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Constitution: none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended
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on 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but
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has not been formally presented to the people
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Legal system: based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory
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courts, Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not
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accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Somhlolo (Independence) Day, 6 September (1968)
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Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament is advisory and consists
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of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly
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Judicial branch: High Court, Court of Appeal
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Obed DLAMINI (since 12 July
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1989)
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Political parties: none; banned by the Constitution promulgated on
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13 October 1978
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Suffrage: none
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Elections: no direct elections
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Communists: no Communist party
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Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
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IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU,
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PCA, SACU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Absalom Vusani MAMBA;
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Chancery at 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
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telephone (202) 362-6683;
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US--Ambassador Stephen H. ROGERS; Embassy at Central Bank Building,
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Warner Street, Mbabane (mailing address is P. O. Box 199, Mbabane);
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telephone 268 46441 through 5
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Flag: three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and
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blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a
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large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated
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with feather tassels, all placed horizontally
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which
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occupies much of the labor force and contributes about 23% to GDP.
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Manufacturing, which includes a number of agroprocessing factories,
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accounts for another 26% of GDP. Mining has declined in importance in
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recent years; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted in 1978, and
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health concerns cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of sugar and
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forestry products are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by
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South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland
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is heavily dependent on South Africa, from which it receives 92% of
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its imports and to which it sends about 40% of its exports.
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GNP: $563 million, per capita $670; real growth rate 5.0% (1990
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est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: NA%
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Budget: revenues $322.9 million; expenditures $325.5 million,
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including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92 est.)
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Exports: $543 million (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, citrus,
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canned fruit;
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partners--South Africa 40% (est.), EC, Canada
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Imports: $651 million (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment,
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petroleum products, foodstuffs, chemicals;
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partners--South Africa 92% (est.), Japan, Belgium, UK
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External debt: $290 million (1990)
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Industrial production: growth rate NA; accounts for 26%
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of GDP (1989)
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Electricity: 50,000 kW capacity; 130 million kWh produced,
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170 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar
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Agriculture: accounts for 23% of GDP and over 60% of labor force;
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mostly subsistence agriculture; cash crops--sugarcane, citrus fruit,
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cotton, pineapples; other crops and livestock--corn, sorghum, peanuts,
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cattle, goats, sheep; not self-sufficient in grain
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $142
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million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $488 million
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Currency: lilangeni (plural--emalangeni); 1 lilangeni (E) =
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100 cents
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Exchange rates: emalangeni (E) per US$1--2.5625 (January 1991),
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2.5863 (1990), 2.6166 (1989), 2.2611 (1988), 2.0350 (1987), 2.2685
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(1986), 2.1911 (1985); note--the Swazi emalangeni is at par with the
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South African rand
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Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 297 km plus 71 km disused, 1.067-meter gauge, single
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track
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Highways: 2,853 km total; 510 km paved, 1,230 km crushed stone,
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gravel, or stabilized soil, and 1,113 km improved earth
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Civil air: 1 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 23 total, 22 usable; 1 with permanent-surfaced runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: system consists of carrier-equipped open-wire
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lines and low-capacity radio relay links; 15,400 telephones;
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stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 10 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force, Royal Swaziland Police
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Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 185,562; 107,254 fit for
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military service
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Defense expenditures: $8 million, 1.3% of GDP (1988)
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