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Swaziland

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
Countries

   SOS Children works in Swaziland. For more information see SOS Children
   in Swaziland, Africa
                             Umbuso weSwatini
   Kingdom of Swaziland

   Flag of Swaziland Coat of arms of Swaziland
   Flag              Coat of arms
   Motto: "Siyinqaba"  ( Swati)
   "We are the fortress"
   Anthem: Nkulunkulu Mnikati wetibusiso temaSwati
   Location of Swaziland
            Capital           Administrative: Mbabane
                              Royal and legislative:  Lobamba
                              26°19′S 31°8′E
          Largest city        Mbabane
       Official languages     English, SiSwati
   Government                 Monarchy
    - King                    Mswati III
    - Indovuzaki              Queen Ntombi
    - Prime Minister          Themba Dlamini
          Independence
    - from the United Kingdom September 6, 1968
                                   Area
    - Total                   17,364 km² ( 157th)
                              6,704 sq mi
    - Water (%)               0.9
                                Population
    - July 2005 estimate      1,032,000^1 ( 154th)
    - 2001 census             1,173,900
    - Density                 59/km² ( 135th)
                              153/sq mi
           GDP ( PPP)         2005 estimate
    - Total                   $5.72 billion ( 146th)
    - Per capita              $5,245 ( 101st)
          HDI  (2003)         0.498 (low) ( 147th)
            Currency          Lilangeni ( SZL)
           Time zone          ( UTC+2)
          Internet TLD        .sz
          Calling code        +268
   ^1 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.

   The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small, landlocked country in Southern
   Africa (one of the smallest on the continent), situated on the eastern
   slope of the Drakensberg mountains, embedded between South Africa in
   the west and Mozambique in the east. The country is named after the
   Swazi, a Bantu tribe. Due in part to a high rate of HIV infection,
   Swaziland has the world's lowest life expectancy: 32.62 years.

History

   Human remains and artifacts from more than 100,000 years ago have been
   found in Swaziland. The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan
   hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during
   Bantu migrations. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about
   the 4th century, and people speaking languages ancestral to current
   Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th
   century. The ruling Dlamini lineage had chiefships in the region in the
   18th century. An enlarged Swazi kingdom was established by King Sobhuza
   I in the early 19th century. Soon thereafter the first whites started
   to settle in the area. In the 1890s the South African Republic in the
   Transvaal claimed sovereignty over Swaziland but never fully
   established power. After the South African War of 1899– 1902, Swaziland
   became a British protectorate. The country was eventually granted
   independence on September 6, 1968. Since then, Swaziland has seen a
   struggle between pro-democracy activists and the totalitarian monarchy.

Politics

   The head of state is the king, currently King Mswati III, who ascended
   to the throne upon the death of his father King Sobhuza II in 1986. By
   tradition, the king reigns along with his mother (the Indlovukazi, lit.
   Great She-Elephant), the former viewed as the administrative head of
   state and the latter as a spiritual and national head of state. As the
   monarch, the king not only appoints the prime minister — the head of
   government — but also appoints a small number of representatives for
   both chambers of the Libandla (parliament). The Senate consists of 30
   members, while the House of Assembly has 65 seats, 55 of which are
   occupied by elected representatives (elections are held every 5 years
   in November). It is important to note that with so much power is in the
   hands of the king, effectively Swaziland is an absolute monarchy,
   despite the presence of a nominally democratic parliamentary system.

   The constitution that was adopted in 1968 was suspended in 1973 in a
   State of Emergency decree presumably still in force today, though the
   government claims that it has been dissolved. In 2001 King Mswati III
   appointed a committee to draft a new constitution. Drafts were released
   for comment in May 2003 and November 2004. However, they were strongly
   criticized by civil society organizations in Swaziland and human rights
   organizations elsewhere. In 2005, the constitution was put into effect,
   though there is still much debate in the country about that issue.

   King Mswati III is often strongly criticized for living so lavishly in
   a nation that is afflicted by the world's highest HIV infection rates
   at 42.6 percent. His fleet of luxury cars, and the millions spent
   towards refurbishing his numerous wives' luxury mansions, are at odds
   with the approximately 34 percent of the population that stand
   unemployed, and nearly 70 percent of the population who live on less
   than a dollar a day. Swaziland is one of the poorest nations in the
   world, although one of the wealthier nations in Africa, and has a very
   low HDI development score.

Geography

   Satellite image of Swaziland, generated from raster graphics data
   supplied by The Map Library
   Enlarge
   Satellite image of Swaziland, generated from raster graphics data
   supplied by The Map Library

   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 Lusutfu
   River. With 50,000 inhabitants, the capital, Mbabane, is the largest
   town in the country; other large towns include Manzini, Lobamba and
   Siteki.

Administrative divisions

   The districts of Swaziland
   Enlarge
   The districts of Swaziland

   Swaziland is divided into four districts:
    1. Hhohho
    2. Lubombo
    3. Manzini
    4. Shiselweni

Economy

   Swaziland ranks among the more prosperous countries in Africa. 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. 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 past few years have seen
   wavering economic growth, which has been 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 that strains the natural heritage 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 42.6% 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 balance is privately owned, much of it by foreigners.
   The questions of land use and ownership remains a very sensitive one.
   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 enjoys 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 U.S. 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
   depreciated 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.

   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
   issues its own currency, the lilangeni (plural: emalangeni), which is
   at par with the South African rand.

   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.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaziland"
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