Swaziland

COUNTRY FLAG

COAT OF ARMS
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LOCATION MAP

AREA MAP
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INFORMATION

Capital: Lobamba (royal/legislative,) Mbabane (administrative)

Government: Unitary Parliamentary Absolute Diarchy

Current King: Mswati III

Economy:

  • Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland depends heavily on South Africa from which it receives more than 90% of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports.
  • The government is heavily dependent on customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), and worker remittances from South Africa supplement domestically earned income.
  • Subsistence agriculture employs approximately 70% of the population.

Population: 1,467,152 (2017)

Land Size: 17,364 sq km (6,704 sq miles)

Major Ethnic Groups:

  • Swazi: 97%
  • European: 3%
 Religions:

  • Zionist (a blend of Christianity and African Traditional Religions): 40%
  • Roman Catholic: 20%
  • Muslim: 10%
  • Other (includes Anglican, Baha’i, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish): 30%

Language(s):

  • English (official, used for government business)
  • siSwati (official)

Links:

RECENT NEWS

  • Fri - Jun 22, 2018: King's Newspaper Hates LGBTI People - AllAfrica News: Swaziland
    [Swazi Media] A report in the Swazi Observer comparing LGBTI people in Swaziland / Eswatini to child molesters and people who have sex with animals was hate speech. It lied to the newspaper's readers and broke the Observer's own code of ethical reporting standards.
  • Thu - Jun 21, 2018: Doubts Election Board Is Competent - AllAfrica News: Swaziland
    [Swazi Media] King Mswati III the absolute monarch of Swaziland / Eswatini dissolved parliament on Wednesday (20 June 2018) ahead of the national election amid doubts that the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) was competent to organise it.
  • Wed - Jun 20, 2018: Swazi King Extends Voter Registration - AllAfrica News: Swaziland
    [Swazi Media] King Mswati III Swaziland's absolute monarch has extended voter registration in his kingdom for another 11 days even though the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) announced 87 percent of eligible voters had registered by the deadline on Sunday (17 June 2018).
  • Tue - Jun 19, 2018: Favoured Motoring for Govt Ministers - AllAfrica News: Swaziland
    [Swazi Media] While the Swaziland Government is content to have only 12 public ambulances available for the whole kingdom because many are off the road waiting for repair, it has been reported that Government ministers have been given hire cars to use while their government cars are also in the workshop.
  • Tue - Jun 19, 2018: People Not Electing Their Government - AllAfrica News: Swaziland
    [Swazi Media] People in Swaziland / Eswatini have been misled into believing they are about to elect a government at the forthcoming national election. They are not.