Swaziland Location:
26°19'S, 31°8'E
The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa (one of the smallest on the continent), embedded within South Africa in the west, north and south and bordering Mozambique in the east. The country is named after the Swazi, a Bantu tribe. It is divided into four regional administrative districts: Hhohho, Manizini, Lubomobo and Shiselweni. Regions are further subdivided in Tinkhundla administrated by chieftains.
Swaziland Geography:
Swaziland offers a wide variety of landscapes, from the mountains along the Mozambican border to savannas in the east and rainforest in the northwest. Several rivers flow through the country, such as the Great Usuthu River.
The capital Mbabane has 67,200 inhabitants (2004), while the largest town in the country is Manzini with population 73,000; other large towns include Lobamba, Nhlangano, Pigg's Peak, Hlathikhulu and Siteki.
Swaziland People:
Population
- July 2005 estimate 1,032,0001 (154th)
- 2001 census 1,173,900
- Density 59 /km2 (135th)
153 /sq mi
Swaziland Government:
Government Monarchy
- King Mswati III
- Indovuzaki Queen Ntombi
- Prime Minister Themba Dlamini
Swaziland Economy:
Swaziland is one of the wealthier nations in Africa, but one of the poorest in the world. Most of the high-level economic activity is in the hands of non-Africans, but ethnic Swazis are becoming more active. Small entrepreneurs are moving into middle management positions.
Yet 70% of Swazis live in rural areas and are being ravaged by drought and a resulting food crisis that threatens hundreds of thousands with hunger. The unemployment rate is approximately 40%, and nearly 70% of the population live on less than one American dollar per day. The country has a very low Human Development Index (HDI) development score. Economic growth has wavered in the past few years, exacerbated by the economy's inability to create new jobs at the same rate that new job seekers enter the market. This is due largely in part to the country's population growth rate, which strains the natural resources and the country's ability to provide adequate social services, such as health care and education. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and floods are persistent problems.
In 2004, Swaziland acknowledged for the first time that it suffered an AIDS crisis, with 38.8% of the population infected with HIV (see AIDS in Africa). Prime Minister Themba Dlamini declared a humanitarian crisis due to the combined effect of drought and land degradation, increased poverty, and HIV/AIDS. The United Nations special envoy on AIDS, Stephen Lewis, said: “Swaziland stands alone with the world's highest rate of HIV infection after nearby Botswana made headway against the deadly pandemic”.
Nearly 60% of Swazi territory is held by the crown in the trust of the Swazi nation. The rest is privately owned, much of it by foreigners. The question of land use and ownership remains very sensitive. For Swazis living on rural homesteads, the principal occupation is either subsistence farming or livestock herding. Culturally, cattle are important symbols of wealth and status, but they are being used increasingly for milk, meat and profit.
Swaziland has well-developed road links with South Africa. It also has railroads running east to west and north to south. The older east-west link, called the Goba line, makes it possible to export bulk goods from Swaziland through the Port of Maputo in Mozambique. Until recently, most of Swaziland's imports were shipped through this port. Conflict in Mozambique in the 1980s diverted many Swazi exports to ports in South Africa. A north-south rail link, completed in 1986, provides a connection between the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) rail network and the South African ports of Richards Bay and Durban.
The sugar industry, based solely on irrigated cane, is Swaziland's leading export earner and private-sector employer. Soft drink concentrate (a US investment) is the country's largest export earner, followed by wood pulp and lumber from cultivated pine forests. Pineapple, citrus fruit, and cotton are other important agricultural exports.
Swaziland mines coal and diamonds for export. There also is a quarry industry for domestic consumption. Mining contributes about 1.8% of Swaziland's GDP each year but has been declining in importance in recent years.
Recently, a number of industrial firms have located at the industrial estate at Matsapha near Manzini. In addition to processed agricultural and forestry products, the fast-growing industrial sector at Matsapha also produces garments, textiles, and a variety of light manufactured products. The Swaziland Industrial Development Company (SIDC) and the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) have assisted in bringing many of these industries to the country. Government programs encourage Swazi entrepreneurs to run small and medium-sized firms. Tourism also is important, attracting more than 424,000 visitors annually (mostly from Europe and South Africa).
From the mid-1980s foreign investment in the manufacturing sector boosted economic growth rates significantly. Since mid-1985, the depleted value of the currency has increased the competitiveness of Swazi exports and moderated the growth of imports, generating trade surpluses. During the 1990s, the country often ran small trade deficits. South Africa and the European Union are major customers for Swazi exports. The United States is a significant market for Swazi sugar, a market that would presumably extend to textiles should Swaziland become a beneficiary of the African Growth Opportunity Act.
The official currency is the lilangeni (plural: emalangeni), which is at par with the South African rand. Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), where import duties apply uniformly to member countries. Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa also are members of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) in which repatriation and unrestricted funds are permitted.
Swaziland is in the process or formulating an Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007.
Swaziland More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaziland | 
