NET MIGRATION RATE: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1989)
INFANT MORTALITY RATE: 127 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH: 47 years male, 54 years female (1989)
TOTAL FERTILITY RATE: 6.1 children born/woman (1989)
NATIONALITY: noun--Swazi(s); adjective--Swazi
ETHNIC DIVISIONS: 97% African, 3% European
RELIGION: 60% Christian, 40% indigenous beliefs
LANGUAGE: English and siSwati (official); government business conducted in English
LITERACY: 67.9% (1985)
LABOR FORCE: 195,000; over 60,000 engaged in subsistence agriculture; about 92,000 wage earners (many only intermittently), with 36% agriculture and forestry, 20% community and social services, 14% manufacturing, 9% construction, 21% other; 24,000-29,000 employed in South Africa (1987)
CONSTITUTION: none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended on 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but has not been formally presented to the people
LEGAL SYSTEM: based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts, Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Somhlolo (Independence) Day, 6 September (1968)
BRANCHES: bicameral Parliament (Senate, House of Assembly) formally opened in January 1979; 80-member electoral college chose 40 members of lower house and 10 members of upper house; additional 10 members for each house chosen by king; executive authority vested in the king or queen (with the advice of the Supreme Council of State), whose assent is required before parliamentary acts become law; king's authority exercised through prime minister and Cabinet, who must be members of Parliament; judiciary is part of Ministry of Justice but otherwise independent of executive and legislative branches; cases from subordinate courts can be appealed to the High Court and the Court of Appeal
CHIEF OF STATE: MSWATI III, King (since April 1986); Ntombi THWALA, Queen (and co-Monarch)
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prince Sotsha Ernest DLAMINI, Prime Minister (since October 1986)
SUFFRAGE: universal adult
ELECTIONS: last held 23 November 1987; next election must be held within five years, but the king can call for one sooner
DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION: Ambassador Absalom Vusani MAMBA; Chancery at 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-6683
U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE POST: Ambassador Mary A. RYAN; Embassy at Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane (mailing address is P. O. Box 199, Mbabane); telephone 22281 through 22285
FLAG: 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 OF SWAZILAND
OVERVIEW: The economy is based on subsistence agriculture, which occupies much of the labor force and contributes about 25% to GDP. Manufacturing, which includes a number of agroprocessing factories, accounts for another 25% of GDP. Mining has declined in importance in recent years; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted in 1978, and health concerns cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of sugar and forestry products are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa, from which it receives 90% of its imports and to which it sends about one-third of its exports.
GNP: $539 million, per capita $750; real growth rate 0.7% (1987 est.)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 13% (1988)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: NA%
BUDGET: revenues $149 million; expenditures $163 million, including capital expenditures of $20 million (FY89)
EXPORTS: $300 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities-- sugar, asbestos, wood pulp, citrus, canned fruit; partners-- South Africa, UK, US
IMPORTS: $381 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities-- motor vehicles, chemicals, petroleum products, foodstuffs; partners-- South Africa, US, UK
EXTERNAL DEBT: $275 million (December 1987)
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: growth rate 24% (1986)
ELECTRICITY: 50,000 kW capacity; 130 million kWh produced, 180 kWh per capita (1988)
INDUSTRIES: mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar
RAILROADS: 297 km (184 mi) plus 71 km disused, 1.067-meter gauge, single track
HIGHWAYS: 2,853 km (1,771 mi) total; 510 km paved, 1,230 km crushed stone, gravel, or stabilized soil, and 1,113 km improved earth
CIVIL AIR: 3 major transport aircraft
AIRPORTS: 23 total, 22 usable; 1 with permanent-surfaced runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: system consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines and low-capacity radio relay links; 15,400 telephones; stations--6 AM, 6 FM, 10 TV; Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station
.DEFENSE FORCES OF SWAZILAND
BRANCHES: Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force, Royal Swaziland Police Force
MILITARY MANPOWER: males 15-49, 160,985; 93,014 fit for military service
MILITARY BUDGET: $17.9 million, 9.7% of central government budget (FY89)
.TRAVEL IN SWAZILAND
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Passport required. Visa not required for stay of up to 60 days. Temporary residence permit available from Immigration Department to Mbabane for longer stay. Visitors entering from South Africa must report to Immigration authorities or police station within 48 hours unless lodging in a hotel. Vaccination certificate not required unless arriving from an area infected with yellow fever.
HEALTH: Medical facilities are adequate; the climate is basically healthful. Tapwater is potable in the cities and at major hotels and restaurants. Health requirements change; check latest information.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING: Climate is similar to that of Washington, D.C., but with the seasons reversed.
TELEPHONE: When direct dialing to Swaziland from the U.S., dial 011 (international access code) + 268 [country code] + local number.
TIME: 7 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
ELECTRIC CURRENT: 240V
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS: Commonwealth Day (Mar 11); Good Friday and Easter Monday (variable); National Flag Day (Apr 25); Ascension Day (variable); King's Birthday (Jul 22); Reed Dance (variable); Independence Day (Sep 6); United Nations Day (Oct 24); Christmas Day (Dec 25); Boxing Day (Dec 26); Incwala (variable).
IMPORTANT!! All requirements/recommendations are subject to change. Be sure to check latest information.
