Swaziland: Fact file
Updated November 2010
| Name | Kingdom of Swaziland |
| Area | 17 363 sq km |
| Capital | Mbabane |
| Major cities | Manzini (Frame 2008, 1166) |
| Boundaries | South Africa, Mozambique (Landlocked) |
| Population | 1.202 million, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009a) |
| Natural pop growth | 1.33%, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009b) |
| Urbanisation | 24.6%, 2007 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 45.2 yrs, male 46.3 yrs; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009c, 2009d) |
| Infant mortality | 53/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009e) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 26.1%, 15-49 yr 2007 est (UN Statistics Division 2009f) |
| Adult literacy rate | 80%; 2003-2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| Military expenditure | 2.2% of GDP; 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 6.3% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2008) |
| Legal system | Roman-Dutch law, traditional law (Dube & Magagula 2007) |
| Independence | 6 September 1968 from UK |
| GDP | US$2.618 billion, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| GDP per capita | US$2,369, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2009g) |
| GDP growth rate | 2.5%, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010d) |
| Main exports | Chemicals, clothing, sugar, wood pulp and wood products (Frame 2008, 1168) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Lilangeni |
| Unemployment | 40%, 2009 (AFDB/OECD 2010) |
| Inflation rate | 3.4%, 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010e) |
| External debt ratio | 12.8% of GDP, 2009 (IMF 2010, 95) |
| 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. Others: Zulu, Tsonga, Afrikaans (Lewis 2009) |
| 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
AFDB/OECD 2010 "Swaziland" IN African Economic Outlook, [www] http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/countries/southern-africa/swaziland/ [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Swaziland", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Swaziland.php [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 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 24 Nov 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
LEWIS, M P (ed) 2009 "Languages of Swaziland" IN Ethnologue: Languages of the World, sixteenth edition, [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=SZ [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
IMF 2010 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2010/AFR/eng/pdf/sreo1010.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
SADC 2007 "Swaziland" IN Country Profiles, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/swaziland2007_08.pdf (offline 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009a "Total population, both sexes combined" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Population&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a12 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009b "Population growth rate" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Population&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a47 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009c "Life expectancy at birth, females" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Life+expectancy&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a67 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009d "Life expectancy at birth, males" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Life+expectancy&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a66 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009e "Infant mortality rate" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009f "Adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=HIV%2fAIDS+prevalence&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a73 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009g "Per capita GDP at current prices" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=SNAAMA&f=grID%3a101%3bcurrID%3aUSD%3bpcFlag%3a1 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Adult literacy rate" IN UNdata, 14 Ju, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Adult+literacy&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a74 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Military expenditure" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010c "GDP" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.CD [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010d "GDP growth" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010e "Inflation, GDP deflator" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Inflation&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010f "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, 19 Nov, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=health+expenditure&d=WHO&f=MEASURE_CODE%3aWHS7_143 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION UNDATED "Swaziland", [www] http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Swaziland [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 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 24 Nov 2010).
