At the commencement of the Anglo Boer war, Britain placed Swaziland under its
direct jurisdiction as a Protectorate and repeated representations especially
relating to land issues by the King and his Councillors which affected the
political process, were rebuffed.
Nevertheless, the Swaziland independence Constitution was promulgated by
Britain in November 1963 in terms of which a legislative Council and an
Executive Council were established. This development was opposed by the Swazi
National Council (ligogo), as it was not in accord with the wishes and
aspirations of the Swazi Nation.
Despite such opposition, elections took place and the first Legislative
Council of Swaziland was constituted on 9 September 1964. Changes to the
original constitution proposed by the Legislative Council, were accepted by
Britain and a new Constitution providing for a House of Assembly and Senate, was
drawn up. Elections under this Constitution were held in 1967.
| Location |
Situated in Southern Africa, between Mozambique and. South Africa 26
30 S. 31 30 E |
| Area |
17,363 sq km |
| Land boundaries |
535 km |
| Borders |
Mozambique 105 kms
South Africa 430 kms |
| Climate |
Highveld ; 5000 sq kms with temperate climate suitable
for afforestation.
Middleveld; 5000 sq kms, abundant rainfall in summer with good grazing
and fertile soils for crops.
Lowveld; 6500 sq kms typical African bushveld,with intense sugarcane
farming under irrigation
Lubombo plateau runs along the eastern border |
| Elevation extremes |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862m |
| Natural resources |
Coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond
deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
| Land use |
arable land: 11%
permanent pastures: 62%
forests : 7% |
| Irrigated land |
Approx 1000 sq km |
| Environmental |
Limited supplies of portable water; wildlife under
threat issues because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil
degradation; soil erosion;Party to international agreements on
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered species, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Desertification, Law of the Sea |
| Population |
929 718 |
| Age structure |
0-14 years: 44.4% (male 204 705; female 208 424)
15-64 years: 52.5% (male 221,350; female 262,559)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 12 247; female 17,015) |
| Population growth rate |
2.9% |
| Birth rate |
36.4 births/1,000 population |
| Death rate |
7.6 deaths/1,000 population |
| Sex ratio |
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female |
| Under 15 years |
0.99 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years and over |
0.93 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over |
0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.89 male(s)/female |
|
Infant mortality rate |
7.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth |
total population: 60 years
male: 58years
female: 63years |
|
Total fertility rate |
4.5 children born/woman |
| Ethnic groups |
Swazis 97%, European 3% |
| Religions |
Protestant 65%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%,
indigenous beliefs 30% |
| Languages |
English (official, government business conducted in English),
siSwazi (official) |
| Literacy |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.7%
male: 78%
female: 75.6% |
| Government type |
Monarchy; independent member of Commonwealth |
| Capital |
Mbabane; – Lobamba is the royal and legislative Capital |
| Administrative divisions |
4 Regions; Hhohbo, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
| Independence |
6 September 1968 (from UK) |
| National holiday |
Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
| Constitution |
Independence Constitution of 6 September 1968 suspended
12 April 1973; a new parliament convened on 13 October 1978; a
Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), has submitted proposals for a
new Constitution to the King |
| Legal system |
Based on Roman-Dutch law in statutory
courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age |
| Executive branch |
Head of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
|
| Administartion |
Head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since
9 August 1996) |
| Legislative branch |
Bicameral Parliament , with House of Assembly and 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
Election results: House of Assembly – balloting is done on a non-party
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 |
| Judicial branch |
High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are
appointed by His Majesty the King |
International Organisation
participation |
ACP, AFDB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WtrO |
| Diplomatic representation abroad |
USA, UK, RSA, Malaysia, Mozambique, Kenya, Brussels. |
| Diplomatic representation in Swaziland |
UK, USA, RSA, Taiwan(ROC), Mozambique. |
| Flag description |
Three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple
width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centred 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 |
|
| GDP - (2001) |
US$ 1279.4 million |
| GDP – composition by sector (2001) |
Agriculture: 10%
Industry: 46.7%
Services: 43.4% |
| Inflation rate |
12.6% (2002) |
| Labour force |
Private sector 69%, public sector 31%
(2001) |
| Unemployment rate |
22.8% (1997) |
| Budget |
Revenues
Expenditures |
| Industries |
Textiles, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates |
| Electricity production |
375 million kWh |
| Electricity consumption |
198 million kWh |
| Electricity exports |
852 million kWh (to Mozambique) |
| Electricity imports |
701 million kWh (from South Africa) |
| Agriculture |
Sugarcane, cotton, maize, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum,
peanuts, cattle |
| Exports |
$881 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports commodities |
Soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, citrus and
canned fruit |
| Exports – partners |
South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% |
| Imports commodities |
Motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment,
foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
| Imports– partners |
South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% |
| Debt – external |
US$300 million |
| Currency |
Emalangeni |
| Exchange rates |
1 Emalangeni = 1 Rand
1 US $ = 8.50 Emalangeni |
| Fiscal year |
1 April – 31 March |
| Communications |
|
|
Telephones –fixed
lines |
40,000
|
|
Telephones–mobile |
70,000
|
| Internet country code |
sz |
| Railways |
Total: 297 km |
| Highways |
Total: 3,000 km |
| Paved |
900 km |
| Unpaved |
>2500 km |
| Airports |
Matsapha International Airport |
| Border Posts |
10 with RSA, 5 with Mozambique |
| Security Forces |
|
|
Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army),
RoyalSwaziland Police Force
|
|
