Swaziland: Fact file
Updated March 2010
| Name | Kingdom of Swaziland |
| Area | 17 363 sq km |
| Capital | Mbabane |
| Major cities | Manzini (Frame 2008, 1166) |
| Boundaries | South Africa, Mozambique (Landlocked) |
| Population | 1.2 million, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Natural pop growth | 1.4%, 2005-2010 (UNDP 2009) |
| Urbanisation | 25.5%, 1990 (UNDP 2009) |
| Life expectancy | Female 44.8 yrs, male 45.7 yrs, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Infant mortality | 66/1000, 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 26%, adult, 2007 est (Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland 2008, 3) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 78.3%, male 80.9%, 2005 (UNDP 2009) |
| Military expenditure | 2.4% of GDP; 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 6.3% of GDP; 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| Legal system | Roman-Dutch law, traditional law (Dube & Magagula 2007) |
| Independence | 6 September 1968 (Britain) |
| GDP | US$2.936 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP per capita | US$1 840, 2007 est (IMF 2009, 65) |
| GDP growth rate | 2.4%, 2008 est (IMF 2009, 62) |
| Main exports | Chemicals, clothing, sugar, wood pulp and wood products (Frame 2008, 1168) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Lilangeni |
| Unemployment | 40%, 2007 (Frame 2008, 1165) |
| Inflation rate | 13.1%, 2008 est (IMF 2009, 66) |
| External debt ratio | 11.8% of GDP, 2008 (IMF 2009, 84) |
| Roads | 3 594 km, 28.2% tarred (Frame 2008, 1163) |
| Rail | 300 km (SADC 2007, 238) |
| Airports | 1 international (Manzini) (Avigation Networks Undated) |
| Ethnic groups | Swazis (97%), other Africans (2%), others (1%) (Frame 2008, 1165) |
| Languages | Official languages Siswati, English. Other small groups include Zulu and Tsonga (Ethnologue.com undated) |
| Religion | Population 15-49 years old: 37% Zionist, 21% mainline Protestant, 14% Charismatic, 7% Apostolic, 5% Catholic, and 3% Pentecostal; 11% no religion (US Department of State 2009) |
References
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Swaziland", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Swaziland.php [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
DUBE, B & MAGAGULA, A "The Law and Legal Research in Swaziland" IN Globalex, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Swaziland.htm [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
ETHNOLOGUE.COM UNDATED "Languages of Swaziland" [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Swaziland [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND 2008 "Monitoring the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS): Swaziland Country Report", [www] http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/swaziland_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
IMF 2008 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
IMF 2009 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2009/AFR/eng/sreo1009.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
SADC 2007 "Swaziland" IN Country Profiles, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/swaziland2007_08.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
UNDP 2009 "Swaziland HDI Rank - 142", IN Human Development Report 2009, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SWZ.html [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births)" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Military expenditure (% of GDP)" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010c "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Gross+domestic+product&d=WHO&f=inID%3AHSR20 [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2009 "Swaziland" IN International Religious Freedom Report 2009, [www] http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127258.htm [opens new window] (accessed 19 Mar 2010).
