Swaziland

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The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small, landlocked country in Southern Africa (one of the smallest on the continent), situated on the eastern slope of the Drakensberg mountains, embedded between South Africa in the west and Mozambique in the east. The country is named after the Swazi, a Bantu tribe. Largely as a result of having the world's highest rate of HIV infection, Swaziland has the lowest life expectancy on the planet: just 33.22 years.

Contents 1 History 2 Politics 3 Geography 4 Administrative divisions 5 Economy 6 Culture 7 Demographics 7.1 Languages 8 See also 9 External links 9.1 Government 9.2 News 9.3 Overviews 9.4 Tourism 9.5 Other

[edit] History

Main article: History of Swaziland

Human remains and artifacts from more than 100,000 years ago have been found in Swaziland. The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers.

They were largely replaced by the Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about the 4th century, and people speaking languages ancestral to current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century.

The ruling Dlamini lineage had chiefships in the region in the 18th century. An enlarged Swazi kingdom was established by King Sobhuza I in the early 19th century. Soon thereafter the first whites started to settle in the area. In the 1890s the South African Republic in the Transvaal claimed sovereignty over Swaziland but never fully established power. After the South African War of 1899–1902, Swaziland became a British protectorate. The country was eventually granted independence on September 6, 1968. Since then, Swaziland has seen a struggle between pro-democracy activists and the monarchy.

[edit] Politics

Main article: Politics of Swaziland

The head of state is the king, currently King Mswati III, who ascended to the throne upon the death of his father King Sobhuza II in 1986. By tradition, the king reigns along with his mother (the Indlovukazi, lit. Great She-Elephant), the former viewed as the administrative head of state and the latter as a spiritual and national head of state. As the monarch, the king not only appoints the prime minister — the head of government — but also appoints a small number of representatives for both chambers of the Libandla (parliament). The Senate consists of 30 members, while the House of Assembly has 65 seats, 55 of which are occupied by elected representatives (elections are held every 5 years in November).

The constitution that was adopted in 1968 was suspended in 1973 in a State of Emergency decree. The State of Emergency has since been lifted. In 2001 King Mswati III appointed a committee to draft a new constitution. Drafts were released for comment in May 2003 and November 2004. However, they were strongly criticized by civil society organizations in Swaziland and human rights organizations elsewhere. In 2005, the constitution was put into effect, though there is still much debate in the country about that issue.

King Mswati III is often strongly criticized for living so lavishly in such a poor nation. He has a fleet of luxury cars, and has spent millions towards refurbishing his numerous wives' luxury mansions.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Swaziland

Swaziland offers a wide variety of landscapes, from the mountains along the Mozambican border to savannas in the east and rainforest in the northwest. Several rivers flow through the country, such as the Great Usuthu River.

The capital Mbabane has 67,200 inhabitants (2004), while the largest town in the country is Manzini with population 73,000; other large towns include Lobamba, Nhlangano, Pigg's Peak, Hlathikhulu and Siteki.

[edit] Administrative divisions

Main article: Districts of Swaziland

Swaziland is divided into four districts:

1. Hhohho
2. Lubombo
3. Manzini
4. Shiselweni

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Swaziland

Swaziland is one of the wealthier nations in Africa, but one of the poorest in the world. Most of the high-level economic activity is in the hands of non-Africans, but ethnic Swazis are becoming more active. Small entrepreneurs are moving into middle management positions.

Yet 70% of Swazis live in rural areas and are being ravaged by drought and a resulting food crisis that threatens hundreds of thousands with hunger. The unemployment rate is approximately 40%, and nearly 70% of the population live on less than a dollar per day. The country has a very low Human Development Index (HDI) development score. Economic growth has wavered in the past few years, exacerbated by the economy's inability to create new jobs at the same rate that new job seekers enter the market. This is due largely in part to the country's population growth rate, which strains the natural resources and the country's ability to provide adequate social services, such as health care and education. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and floods are persistent problems.

In 2004, Swaziland acknowledged for the first time that it suffered an AIDS crisis, with 38.8% of the population infected with HIV (see AIDS in Africa). Prime Minister Themba Dlamini declared a humanitarian crisis due to the combined effect of drought and land degradation, increased poverty, and HIV/AIDS. The United Nations special envoy on AIDS, Stephen Lewis, said: “Swaziland stands alone with the world's highest rate of HIV infection after nearby Botswana made headway against the deadly pandemic”.

Nearly 60% of Swazi territory is held by the crown in the trust of the Swazi nation. The rest is privately owned, much of it by foreigners. The question of land use and ownership remains very sensitive. For Swazis living on rural homesteads, the principal occupation is either subsistence farming or livestock herding. Culturally, cattle are important symbols of wealth and status, but they are being used increasingly for milk, meat and profit.

Swaziland has well-developed road links with South Africa. It also has railroads running east to west and north to south. The older east-west link, called the Goba line, makes it possible to export bulk goods from Swaziland through the Port of Maputo in Mozambique. Until recently, most of Swaziland's imports were shipped through this port. Conflict in Mozambique in the 1980s diverted many Swazi exports to ports in South Africa. A north-south rail link, completed in 1986, provides a connection between the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) rail network and the South African ports of Richards Bay and Durban.

The sugar industry, based solely on irrigated cane, is Swaziland's leading export earner and private-sector employer. Soft drink concentrate (a US investment) is the country's largest export earner, followed by wood pulp and lumber from cultivated pine forests. Pineapple, citrus fruit, and cotton are other important agricultural exports.

Swaziland mines coal and diamonds for export. There also is a quarry industry for domestic consumption. Mining contributes about 1.8% of Swaziland's GDP each year but has been declining in importance in recent years.

Recently, a number of industrial firms have located at the industrial estate at Matsapha near Manzini. In addition to processed agricultural and forestry products, the fast-growing industrial sector at Matsapha also produces garments, textiles, and a variety of light manufactured products. The Swaziland Industrial Development Company (SIDC) and the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) have assisted in bringing many of these industries to the country. Government programs encourage Swazi entrepreneurs to run small and medium-sized firms. Tourism also is important, attracting more than 424,000 visitors annually (mostly from Europe and South Africa).

From the mid-1980s foreign investment in the manufacturing sector boosted economic growth rates significantly. Since mid-1985, the depleted value of the currency has increased the competitiveness of Swazi exports and moderated the growth of imports, generating trade surpluses. During the 1990s, the country often ran small trade deficits. South Africa and the European Union are major customers for Swazi exports. The United States is a significant market for Swazi sugar, a market that would presumably extend to textiles should Swaziland become a beneficiary of the African Growth Opportunity Act.

The official currency is the lilangeni (plural: emalangeni), which is at par with the South African rand. Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), where import duties apply uniformly to member countries. Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa also are members of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) in which repatriation and unrestricted funds are permitted.

Swaziland is in the process or formulating an Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which is expected to be adopted in the period 2006-2007.

[edit] Culture

Main article: Culture of Swaziland

See also: Music of Swaziland

Swaziland's most well-known cultural event is the annual Reed Dance. The country was under the chastity rite of "umchwasho" until 19 August 2005.

See also: Martha Mphahlele "A Time of Bliss" story about Swazi culture

[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Swaziland

The majority of Swaziland's population is ethnic Swazi, mixed with a small number of Zulus and non-Africans, mostly whites of British and Afrikaner descent. Traditionally Swazis have been subsistence farmers and herders, but most now work in the growing urban formal economy and in government. Some Swazis work in the mines in South Africa. Swaziland also received Portuguese settlers and black refugees from Mozambique. Christianity in Swaziland is sometimes mixed with traditional beliefs and practices. Most Swazis ascribe a special spiritual role to the monarch.

[edit] Languages

Swazi (also known as SiSwati, Swati or Seswati) is a Bantu language of the Nguni Group spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. It has 1.5 million speakers and is taught in schools. It is an official language of Swaziland (along with English and Zulu) and one of the official languages of South Africa.

Tsonga is spoken by about 1,646,000 people in South Africa's Limpopo province, as well as 1.5 million people in Mozambique, and 19,000 people in Swaziland. There are also 5,000 speakers in Zimbabwe.

[edit] See also

• List of Swaziland-related topics
• Natan Gamedze Swazi Prince and Orthodox Rabbi
• Swazi diplomatic missions

[edit] External links

Find more information on Swaziland by searching Wikipedia's sister projects
	Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

[edit] Government

• Swaziland Government official government site
• Ministry of Tourism official site
• Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority

[edit] News

• African News Dimension
• Times of Swaziland newspaper

[edit] Overviews

• BBC News - Country Profile: Swaziland
• CIA World Factbook - Swaziland
• Open Directory Project - Swaziland directory category
• US State Department - Swaziland includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports

[edit] Tourism

• Swaziland travel guide from Wikitravel
• Swazi Express Airways
• Swazi tourism and travel directory

[edit] Other

• Online Information about Swaziland
• Online documentary about King Mswati III
• Swaziland: Articles
• Matsapha Airport information
• Friends of Swaziland, returned Peace Corps volunteer group
• swaziAID, returned ngo