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NAVIGATION
Kingdom of Swaziland
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
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Government type:
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monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth |
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Capital:
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Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
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Administrative divisions:
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4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
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Independence:
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6 September 1968 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
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Constitution:
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none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted |
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Legal system:
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based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
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Legislative branch:
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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 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held September 2003) 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 |
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Judicial branch:
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High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
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Political parties and leaders:
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political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA
FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
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Flag description:
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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 |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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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 nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than 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 2002 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $4.8 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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1.6% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 17%
industry: 44% services: 39% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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40% (1995) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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11.8% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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383,200 (2000) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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NA |
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Unemployment rate:
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34% (2000 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02) |
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Industries:
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mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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3.7% (FY95/96) |
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Electricity - production:
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348.3 million kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 58%
hydro: 42% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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962.9 million kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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639 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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3,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
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Exports:
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$820 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
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Exports - partners:
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South Africa 72%, EU 14.2%, Mozambique 3.7%, US 3.5%, UK (1999) |
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Imports:
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$938 million f.o.b. (2002) |
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Imports - commodities:
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motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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South Africa 88.8%, EU 5.6%, Japan 0.6%, Singapore 0.4% (1999) |
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Debt - external:
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$320 million (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$104 million (2001) |
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Currency:
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lilangeni (SZL) |
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Currency code:
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SZL |
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Exchange rates:
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emalangeni per US dollar - 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999), 5.5283 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 April - 31 March |