Swaziland 

SWAZILAND: Women's equality in...

SWAZILAND: Women's equality in theory, but not in practice

A groundbreaking legal action in Swaziland's High Court is testing the new Constitution and its recognition of equal rights for women. King Mswati...

SWAZILAND: ARV programme needs to double

MANZINI Wednesday, December 03, 2008 (IRIN) - The release of revised projections indicating that twice as many HIV-positive Swazis are in need of...

SWAZILAND: Ignoring protests will not make them go away

MANZINI Thursday, September 18, 2008 (IRIN) - Swazi police on Thursday detained trade union leaders and pro-democracy activists attempting to...

SWAZILAND: Treatment programme woes

JOHANNESBURG Thursday, September 18, 2008 (IRIN) - Shortages of antiretroviral (ARV) and other drugs in public health facilities in Swaziland have...

SWAZILAND: Voters hoping to make a difference

MBABANE Friday, September 19, 2008 (IRIN) - Swaziland's humanitarian crises were uppermost in the minds of voters casting their ballots in the...

SWAZILAND: Bomb blast kills two

MBABANE Monday, September 22, 2008 (IRIN) - Two men were killed and a third injured after a bomb exploded on 21 September close to King Mswati III's...

Offical Name: Kingdom of Swaziland

Geography
 

Capital: Lobamba (royal and legislative); Mbabane (administrative)
Major Towns: Mbabane, Manzini, Lobamba, Mankayane, Mhlume
Location (geographical coordinates/latitude and longitude): Mbabane: 26°19'S, 31°8'E
Time Zone UTC+2
Size (Land and Sea): 17,364 km²; 0.9% Water
Borders with South Africa and Mozambique
Elevation extremes: Lowest point : Great Usutu River 21 m, highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m 
 
Politics 

Head of State: King: Mswati III; Prime Minister: Themba Dlamini
Form of Government: Monarchy
Independancy (from UK): September 6, 1968
Currency: Lilangeni
 
Industry  

Main industries: Sugar industry, Soft drink concentrate, wood pulp and lumber, agricultural exports (Pineapple, citrus fruit, and cotton), Mining (coal, diamonds, quarry, raw asbestos)
Natural resources: asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, talc
Agriculture: sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
 
Population and People  

Population:  1,133,066 (2007 est.); 1,032,000 (July 2005); 1,173,900 (2001)
Population density per sq mi: 171
Growth rate: 1.6% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 27.0 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 70.7/1000
Religion: Christianity: 82.70%; Islam: 0.95%, Bahai: 0.5%, Hinduism: 0.15%
Languages: English, Swazi, Zulu
Ethnic groups / Tribes: Majority Swazi; Zulus, non-Africans (British&Afrikaander)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184); 15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036); 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.)
Life expectancy: 32.2
Literacy: 78%

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