"text":"Autonomy for Eswatini was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. A new constitution came into effect in 2006, which included provisions for a more independent parliament and judiciary, but the legal status of political parties remains unclear. King MSWATI III renamed the country from Swaziland to Eswatini in April 2018. Despite its classification as a lower-middle income country, Eswatini suffers from severe poverty and high unemployment. Eswatini has the world's highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, although recent years have shown marked declines in new infections. <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>"
"text":"because of its mountainous terrain, the population distribution is uneven throughout the country, concentrating primarily in valleys and plains as shown in this <a href=\"../attachments/images/original/ESWATINI_Population_density.jpg?1554224289\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">population distribution map</a>"
"text":"limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; population growth, deforestation, and overgrazing lead to soil erosion and soil degradation"
"note":"<p><strong>note:</strong> estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected</p>"
"text":"English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official)"
},
"Religions":{
"text":"Christian 90% (Zionist - a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship - 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, other 30% - includes Anglican, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness), Muslim 2%, other 8% (includes Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, indigenous, Jewish) (2015 est.)"
"text":"<p>Eswatini, a small, predominantly rural, landlocked country surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique, suffers from severe poverty and the world’s highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. A weak and deteriorating economy, high unemployment, rapid population growth, and an uneven distribution of resources all combine to worsen already persistent poverty and food insecurity, especially in rural areas. Erratic weather (frequent droughts and intermittent heavy rains and flooding), overuse of small plots, the overgrazing of cattle, and outdated agricultural practices reduce crop yields and further degrade the environment, exacerbating Eswatini's poverty and subsistence problems. Eswatini's extremely high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate – more than 28% of adults have the disease – compounds these issues. Agricultural production has declined due to HIV/AIDS, as the illness causes households to lose manpower and to sell livestock and other assets to pay for medicine and funerals.</p><p>Swazis, mainly men from the country’s rural south, have been migrating to South Africa to work in coal, and later gold, mines since the late 19th century. Although the number of miners abroad has never been high in absolute terms because of Eswatini's small population, the outflow has had important social and economic repercussions. The peak of mining employment in South Africa occurred during the 1980s. Cross-border movement has accelerated since the 1990s, as increasing unemployment has pushed more Swazis to look for work in South Africa (creating a \"brain drain\" in the health and educational sectors); southern Swazi men have continued to pursue mining, although the industry has downsized. Women now make up an increasing share of migrants and dominate cross-border trading in handicrafts, using the proceeds to purchase goods back in Eswatini. Much of today’s migration, however, is not work-related but focuses on visits to family and friends, tourism, and shopping.</p>"
"text":"because of its mountainous terrain, the population distribution is uneven throughout the country, concentrating primarily in valleys and plains as shown in this <a href=\"../attachments/images/original/ESWATINI_Population_density.jpg?1554224289\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">population distribution map</a>"
"text":"Independence Day (Somhlolo Day), 6 September (1968)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"previous 1968, 1978; latest signed by the king 26 July 2005, effective 8 February 2006"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed at a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament; passage requires majority vote by both houses and/or majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king; passage of amendments affecting \"specially entrenched\" constitutional provisions requires at least three-fourths majority vote by both houses, passage by simple majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king; passage of \"entrenched\" provisions requires at least two-thirds majority vote of both houses, passage in a referendum, and assent of the king"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"mixed legal system of civil, common, and customary law"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"both parents must be citizens of Eswatini"
"text":"Cabinet recommended by the prime minister, confirmed by the monarch; at least one-half of the cabinet membership must be appointed from among elected members of the House of Assembly"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among members of the House of Assembly"
"text":"bicameral Parliament (Libandla) consists of:<br /> <div class=\"category_data\">Senate (30 seats; 20 members appointed by the monarch and 10 indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the House of Assembly; members serve 5-year terms)<br />House of Assembly (73 seats; 59 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies or tinkhundla by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed, 10 members appointed by the monarch, 4 women elected by the members if representation of elected women is less than 30%; members serve 5-year terms)</div>"
"text":"Senate - last held on 23 October 2018 (next to be held - 31 October 2023)<br />House of Assembly - last held on 21 September 2018 (next to be held in 2023)"
"text":"Senate - percent of seats by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 20, women 10, percent of women 33.3% <br />House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 59; composition - men 60, women 5, percent of women 7.7%; note - total Parliament percent of women 15.8%"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and at least 4 justices) and the High Court (consists of the chief justice - ex officio - and 4 justices); note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in all constitutional matters"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"justices of the Supreme Court and High Court appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a judicial advisory body consisting of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, 4 members appointed by the monarch, and the chairman of the Civil Service Commission; justices of both courts eligible for retirement at age 65 with mandatory retirement at age 75"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"magistrates' courts; National Swazi Courts for administering customary/traditional laws (jurisdiction restricted to customary law for Swazi citizens)"
"text":"political parties exist, but conditions for their operations, particularly in elections, are undefined, legally unclear, or culturally restricted; the following are considered political associations:<br />African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Sibusiso DLAMINI]<br />Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Dr. Alvit DLAMINI]<br />People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU]<br />Swazi Democratic Party or SWADEPA [Jan SITHOLE]"
"text":"Ambassador Njabuliso Busisiwe Sikhulile GWEBU (since 24 April 2017)"
},
"chancery":{
"text":"1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 234-5002"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 234-8254"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador Lisa J. PETERSON (since February 2016)"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"(268)404-6441; EMER: +(268)7602-8414"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"7th Floor, Central Bank Building, Mahlokohla Street, Mbabane"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"PO Box 199, Mbabane, Eswatini"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[268] 2416-3344"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally; blue stands for peace and stability, red represents past struggles, and yellow the mineral resources of the country; the shield, spears, and staff symbolize protection from the country's enemies, while the black and white of the shield are meant to portray black and white people living in peaceful coexistence"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"lion, elephant; national colors: blue, yellow, red"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Nkulunkulu Mnikati wetibusiso temaSwati\" (Oh God, Bestower of the Blessings of the Swazi)"
"text":"<p>A small, landlocked kingdom, Eswatini is bordered in the north, west and south by the Republic of South Africa and by Mozambique in the east. Eswatini depends on South Africa for a majority of its exports and imports. Eswatini's currency is pegged to the South African rand, effectively relinquishing Eswatini's monetary policy to South Africa. The government is dependent on customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) for almost half of its revenue. Eswatini is a lower middle income country. As of 2017, more than one-quarter of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS; Eswatini has the world’s highest HIV prevalence rate, a financial strain and source of economic instability.</p><p></p><p>The manufacturing sector diversified in the 1980s and 1990s, but manufacturing has grown little in the last decade. Sugar and soft drink concentrate are the largest foreign exchange earners, although a drought in 2015-16 decreased sugar production and exports. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and floods are persistent problems. Mining has declined in importance in recent years. Coal, gold, diamond, and quarry stone mines are small scale, and the only iron ore mine closed in 2014. With an estimated 28% unemployment rate, Eswatini's need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and to attract foreign direct investment is acute.</p><p></p><p>Eswatini's national development strategy, which expires in 2022, prioritizes increases in infrastructure, agriculture production, and economic diversification, while aiming to reduce poverty and government spending. Eswatini's revenue from SACU receipts are likely to continue to decline as South Africa pushes for a new distribution scheme, making it harder for the government to maintain fiscal balance without introducing new sources of revenue.</p>"
"text":"earlier government monopoly in telecommunications hindered its growth; new regulatory authority established in 2013 has aided expansion in the telecom sector; 2G, 3G, 4G and LTE services (2019)"
"text":"Eswatini has 2 mobile-cellular providers; communication infrastructure has a geographic coverage of about 90% and a rising subscriber base; fixed-line stands at 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 94 telephones per 100 persons; telephone system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay (2019)"
"note":"<br><br><strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated"
"text":"1 state-owned TV station; satellite dishes are able to access South African providers; state-owned radio network with 3 channels; 1 private radio station (2019)"
"Military and security service personnel strengths":{
"text":"the Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force has approximately 3,100 active personnel (3,000 Army; 100 Air Force) (2020 est.)"
},
"Military equipment inventories and acquisitions":{
"text":"the inventory of the UEDF consists mostly of equipment from South Africa; the only publicly recorded military acquisitions since 2010 were two secondhand helicopters from Taiwan in 2019 (2020)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18-30 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; compulsory HIV testing required, only HIV-negative applicants accepted (2013)"
