Swaziland
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Mbabane |
|
Borders |
Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
|
Government type |
monarchy |
|
Population |
1,337,186[1] |
|
Population growth |
1.307% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
47.85 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
40% (2006 est.)[1] |
|
102[2] | |
|
79[3] | |
|
115[4] | |
Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, the world's last absolute monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. A constitution came into effect in 2006, but political parties remain banned. The African United Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully to register as an official political party in mid 2006. Talks over the constitution broke down between the government and progressive groups in 2007. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: Lilangeni (ISO code: SZL)
- Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 11.38% (31 December 2009 )[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $211.8 million (31 December 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $441.5 million (31 December 2008)[1]
Notable events:
- Banking crisis: 1995[5]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[6] | 1 535 | 1 490 | 1 291 | 1 174 | 1 796 | 2 282 | 2 524 | 2 670 | 2 950 | 2 837 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8] | 28.220 | |||||||||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9] | 25.943 | |||||||||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Swaziland", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Swaziland", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Swaziland", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Swaziland", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 383. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Swaziland: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ World Bank. "Swaziland: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ World Bank. "Swaziland: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
- ↑ World Bank. "Swaziland: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-05.
Links
- Swaziland on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Swaziland
- Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
- BBC country profile
