Eswatini

noun:

liSwati (singular), emaSwati (plural); note - former term, Swazi(s), still used among English speakers

adjective:

Swati; note - former term, Swazi, still used among English speakers

total:

24.6 years (2024 est.)

male:

23.4 years

female:

25.8 years

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.59 male(s)/female

total population:

0.9 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

36.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

40.7 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

32.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

60.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

58.7 years

female:

62.8 years

total:

7.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

5.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

9.2% (2020 est.)

male:

16.5% (2020 est.)

female:

1.8% (2020 est.)

• limited supplies of potable water;
• wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting;
• population growth, deforestation, and overgrazing lead to soil erosion and soil degradation

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

urban population:

24.8% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.42% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

severe localized food insecurity:

• due to higher staple food prices - the latest analysis indicates that nearly 259,000 people faced acute food insecurity between January and March 2023, an improvement compared to the previous year;
• food insecurity in 2022-23 is driven by high food prices and a slowdown in economic growth, curbing households’ income earning opportunities (2023)

particulate matter emissions:

15.07 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

1.16 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

1.9 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

1.01 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Eswatini

conventional short form:

Eswatini

local long form:

Umbuso weSwatini

local short form:

eSwatini

former:

Swaziland

etymology:

the country name derives from 19th century King MSWATI II, under whose rule Swati territory was expanded and unified

note: pronounced ay-swatini or eh-swatini

name:

Mbabane (administrative capital); Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)

geographic coordinates:

26 19 S, 31 08 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

named after a Swati chief, Mbabane KUNENE, who lived in the area at the onset of British settlement

history:

previous 1968, 1978; latest signed by the king 26 July 2005, effective 8 February 2006

amendments:

• proposed at a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament;
• passage requires majority vote by both houses and/or majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king;
• passage of amendments affecting "specially entrenched" constitutional provisions requires at least three-fourths majority vote by both houses, passage by simple majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king;
• passage of "entrenched" provisions requires at least two-thirds majority vote of both houses, passage in a referendum, and assent of the king

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

both parents must be citizens of Eswatini

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)

head of government:

Prime Minister Russell DLAMINI (since 6 November 2023)

cabinet:

• Cabinet recommended by the prime minister, confirmed by the monarch;
• at least one-half of the cabinet membership must be appointed from among elected members of the House of Assembly

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among members of the House of Assembly

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and at least 4 justices) and the High Court (consists of the chief justice - ex officio - and 4 justices);
• note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in all constitutional matters

judge selection and term of office:

• justices of the Supreme Court and High Court appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a judicial advisory body consisting of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, 4 members appointed by the monarch, and the chairman of the Civil Service Commission;
• justices of both courts eligible for retirement at age 65 with mandatory retirement at age 75

subordinate courts:

magistrates' courts; National Swazi Courts for administering customary/traditional laws (jurisdiction restricted to customary law for Swazi citizens)

• political parties exist but conditions for their operations, particularly in elections, are undefined, legally unclear, or culturally restricted;
• the following are considered political associations:

African United Democratic Party or AUDP

Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC

People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO

Swazi Democratic Party or SWADEPA

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kennedy Fitzgerald GROENING (7 June 2022)

chancery:

1712 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-5002

FAX:

[1] (202) 234-8254

email address and website:

[email protected]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant) Chargé d’Affaires Caitlin PIPER (since 27 October 2023)

embassy:

Corner of MR 103 and Cultural Center Drive, Ezulwini, P.O. Box D202, The Gables, H106

mailing address:

2350 Mbabane Place, Washington DC 20521-2350

telephone:

(268) 2417-9000

FAX:

[268] 2416-3344

email address and website:

[email protected]; Homepage - U.S. Embassy in Eswatini (usembassy.gov)

• 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;
• blue stands for peace and stability, red represents past struggles, and yellow the mineral resources of the country;
• the shield, spears, and staff symbolize protection from the country's enemies, while the black and white of the shield are meant to portray black and white people living in peaceful coexistence

name:

"Nkulunkulu Mnikati wetibusiso temaSwati" (Oh God, Bestower of the Blessings of the Swazi)

lyrics/music:

Andrease Enoke Fanyana SIMELANE/David Kenneth RYCROFT

note: adopted 1968; uses elements of both ethnic Swazi and Western music styles

• landlocked southern African economy;
• South African trade dependent and currency pegging;
• CMA and SACU member state;
• COVID-19 economic slowdown;
• growing utilities inflation;
• persistent poverty and unemployment;
• HIV/AIDS labor force disruptions

total:

65% (2023 est.)

male:

62.4% (2023 est.)

female:

67.5% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

lowest 10%:

1.4% (2016 est.)

highest 10%:

42.7% (2016 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

219,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

124,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

5,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

147,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

4.644 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

general assessment:

• Eswatini was one of the last countries in the world to open up its telecom market to competition;
• until 2011 the state-owned Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications also acted as the industry regulator and had a stake in the country’s sole mobile network;
• a new independent regulatory authority was established in late 2013 and has since embarked on significant changes to the sector;
• mobile market subscriptions have been affected by the common use among subscribers when they use SIM cards from different networks in order to access cheaper on-net calls;
• subscriber growth has slowed in recent years, but was expected to have reached 8% in 2021, as people adapted to the changing needs for connectivity caused by the pandemic;
• the internet sector has been open to competition with a small number of licensed ISPs;
• DSL services were introduced in 2008, development of the sector has been hampered by the limited fixed-line infrastructure and by a lack of competition in the access and backbone networks;
• Eswatini is landlocked and so depends on neighboring countries for international bandwidth;
• this has meant that access pricing is relatively high, and market subscriptions remains relatively low;
• prices have fallen recently in line with greater bandwidth availability resulting from several new submarine cable systems which have reached the region in recent years;
• in September 2020 a terrestrial cable linked Mozambique with Eswatini and South Africa (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line stands at nearly 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 120 telephones per 100 persons (2021)

international:

country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

• 1 state-owned TV station;
• satellite dishes are able to access South African providers;
• state-owned radio network with 3 channels;
• 1 private radio station (2019)

total:

301 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

301 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge

total:

4,594 km

paved:

1,500 km

unpaved:

3,000 km (2022)

• the UEDF’s primary mission is external security but it also has domestic security responsibilities, including protecting members of the royal family;
• the king is the UEDF commander in chief and holds the position of minister of defense, although the UEDF reports to the Army commander and principal undersecretary of defense for day-to-day operations;
• the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) is responsible for maintaining internal security as well as migration and border crossing enforcement;
• it is under the prime minister, although the king is the force’s titular commissioner in chief;
• the UEDF was originally created in 1973 as the Royal Swaziland Defense Force (2023)