Eswatini
1 Eswatini Country Profile


Generic Information

Eswatini; Swazi: eSwatini, officially the Kingdom of Eswatini (Swazi: Umbuso weSwatini) and also known as Swaziland (officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, and south. At no more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) north to south and 130 kilometres (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.

The population is primarily ethnic Swazis. The language is Swazi (siSwati in native form). The Swazis established their kingdom in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Ngwane III. The country and the Swazi take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule Swazi territory was expanded and unified; the present boundaries were drawn up in 1881. After the Second Boer War, Swaziland was a British protectorate from 1903 until it regained its independence on 6 September 1968. In April 2018, the official name was changed from Kingdom of Swaziland to Kingdom of Eswatini, mirroring the name commonly used in Swazi.

It has a population of about 1.3 million people out of which more than 76 percent live in rural areas. About 51 percent are females and 49 percent are males. Although Eswatini is classified as a lower middle-income country, it has a low human development index (HDI) of 0.611, with a rank of 138 out of 188 countries[1]

Geography

Capital: Mbabane (administrative capital); Lombamba (royal and legislative capital)

Area: 17, 360 km²

Borders with: The Republic of South Africa and Mozambique

People

Population: 1.136 million (2018)

Population growth rate: 1.0% annual change (2018)

Ethnic Groups: Swati 84.3%, Zulu 9.9%, Tsonga 2.5%, Indian 0.8%, Pakistani 0.8%, Portuguese 0.5%

Language: Siswati and English

Religion: Zionist (a blend of Christianity and Indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic, Islam, Other Christian (includes Anglican, Methodist, Latter-Day Saint, Jehovah's Witness) and Other non-Christian (includes Bahá'í, Buddhist, Hindu, indigenous religionist, Judaism)

Economy

Currency: Lilangeni

GDP Growth: 2.4% annual change (2018)

GDP per capita (PPP): 4,145.97 USD (2018)

Inflation (Consumer Prices):  4.83% (2018)

Unemployment: 22.85% (2019)

Export: soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit

Government

Head of State: HM King Mswati III

Prime Minister: Cleopas Dlamini

Government Type: Absolute monarchy

Legislature: Bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (30 seats) and the House of Assembly (73 seats)


The government is an absolute diarchy, ruled jointly by Ngwenyama ("King") Mswati III and Ndlovukati ("Queen Mother") Ntfombi Tfwala since 1986. The former is the administrative head of state and appoints the country's prime ministers and a number of representatives of both chambers (the Senate and House of Assembly) in the country's parliament, while the latter is the national head of state, serving as keeper of the ritual fetishes of the nation and presiding during the annual Umhlanga rite. Elections are held every five years to determine the House of Assembly and the Senate majority. The current constitution was adopted in 2005. Umhlanga, held in August/September, and incwala, the kingship dance held in December/January, are the nation's most important events.

Eswatini is a developing country with a small economy. With a GDP per capita of $11,089, it is classified as a country with a lower-middle income. As a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), its main local trading partner is South Africa; in order to ensure economic stability, Eswatini's currency, the lilangeni, is pegged to the South African rand. Eswatini's major overseas trading partners are the United States and the European Union. The majority of the country's employment is provided by its agricultural and manufacturing sectors. Eswatini is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations.

The Swazi population faces major health issues: HIV/AIDS and, to a lesser extent, tuberculosis are widespread. It is estimated that 26% of the adult population is HIV-positive. As of 2018, Eswatini has the 12th lowest life expectancy in the world, at 58 years. The population of Eswatini is young, with a median age of 20.5 years and people aged 14 years or younger constituting 37.5% of the country's total population. The present population growth rate is 1.2%.

As with other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, the 2016 El Niño phenomenon provided impetus for Eswatini, to adopt the IPC to classify food insecurity. The country conducted its first IPC Acute Food Insecurity analysis in 2013. Since then, the country has been conducting one IPC Acute Food Insecurity training and analysis per year. Following the IPC Chronic Food Insecurity training conducted in 2017, the country planned and conducted its first IPC Chronic Food Insecurity analysis in 2018.

The IPC is used to inform and report on food insecurity in the country. IPC activities are integrated in the Eswatini Vulnerability Committee chaired by the Government and comprising of UN Agencies (FAO, WFP and UNICEF) and NGOs (Oxfam, Care and Save the Children). 

Between December 2021 and March 2022, around 336,000 people (29% of the population in Eswatini) are estimated to be facing high acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 Crisis or above) and require urgent humanitarian assistance. Of this population, 286,000 people are classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) and 50,000 in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency). An additional 376,000 are classified in IPC Phase 2 (Stressed) and require livelihood support. Compared to the October 2021 - March 2022 projection period from the August 2021 analysis, this update shows a slight deterioration, with a slight increase in the food insecure population in IPC Phase 3 or above in all livelihood zones except for Highveld Cattle and Maize, Timber Highlands and Moist Middleveld, with the latter two having 47% of their households having food stocks lasting more than six months. This update has seen the population projected to be in IPC Phase 3 or above increase by 19,000 people.

Eswatini: Acute Food Insecurity Projection Update December 2021 - March 2022 | IPC Global Platform (ipcinfo.org)


Eswatini Wikipedia Country Information Eswatini - Wikipedia

Eswatini IMF Country Information Kingdom of Eswatini and the IMF

Eswatini Economist Intelligence Unit Information*  The Economist Intelligence Unit (eiu.com)

(*note - this is a paid service)

Humanitarian Info

Eswatini World Food Programme Information Eswatini | World Food Programme (wfp.org)

Eswatini UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Information Eswatini (Swaziland) | OCHA (unocha.org)

Facts and Figures

Eswatini Wolfram Alpha Information Eswatini - Wolfram|Alpha (wolframalpha.com)

Eswatini World Bank Information Eswatini: Development news, research, data | World Bank

Eswatini Population Information Eswatini Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs) (worldpopulationreview.com)

Eswatini - The World Factbook (cia.gov)

                                                           


[1] UNDP 2020 Human Development Report

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