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 SWAZILAND
Humanitarian Country Profile | | Background | Last update: February 2006 |
The kingdom of Swaziland, once considered an island of peace in a sea of regional conflict, is now largely viewed by the international community as in need of democratic reform. King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch. He inherited the kingdom in 1986 from his father, King Sobhuza II, who led the country to independence from Britain in 1968; in 1973 he banned political parties.
Swaziland is a tiny, mountainous country of just over a million people surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique. The Swazis migrated from what is today Mozambique and South Africa, before settling within what became the country's modern borders in the 1800s under hereditary kings of the Dlamini clan.
The country has the world's highest HIV infection rate. Two-thirds of the people live in chronic poverty as subsistence farmers on communal Swazi Nation Land under palace-appointed chiefs. International humanitarian organisations provide food relief to one-quarter of the population.
Peace and security
Swaziland faces no external threat, but the ruling Dlamini lay claim to large tracts of South African land - as far as the Indian Ocean - allegedly stolen by the colonial powers. A royal committee headed by King Mswati's older brother, Prince Khuzulwandle, has been in existence for 10 years, but has yet to engage the South African government in talks on the issue.
Pro-democracy activists have taken to the streets to demand political reforms, but the marches are broken up by the police. A government statement in November 2006 described such demonstrations as a threat to national security and economic prosperity.
IDPs/Refugees
Mozambican and South African refugees sheltered in Swaziland in the 1980s, but have all since been repatriated.
Democracy and governance
A national constitution signed by Mswati in 2006 formalised the monarch's hold on power, making the king the highest government authority and protecting the monarchy from political challenge by opposition groups. Swazis have traditionally revered the king.
Freedom House, a rights watchdog, gave Swaziland the lowest possible score for civil liberties and political rights, ranking the country alongside North Korea, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Cuba.
Media
Freedom House also gave Swaziland a 50 percent rating on freedom of expression, a right listed in the constitution but subject to suspension if the king finds it "inconsistent with the public good".
Radio and television are government controlled, as is one of the nation's two daily newspapers. The country's only independent title, the Times of Swaziland, at times practises self-censorship. No journalists have been arrested since 2001.
Economy
The country's economic decline dates from 1988, when companies that had moved to Swaziland to avoid sanctions against apartheid South Africa began returning to its larger and more prosperous neighbour.
Efforts to build a textile-manufacturing base, assisted by favourable trade treaties with the European Union and the United States, have been set back by the end of international quotas on cheap, large-volume Asian exports. Sugar, a key cash crop, has also been hit by a cut in European Union subsidies.
More than 60 percent of the population are subsistence farmers, who are increasingly unable to support themselves due to HIV/AIDS, drought and poor land management. In its 2006 annual report on the national economy, the Central Bank of Swaziland reported a GDP growth of 1.8 percent against a population growth of 2.9 percent.
Population
HIV/AIDS has not halted a population growth rate of 2.9 percent - the population has grown to 1.2 million from 500,000 in 1975. Polygamy and social acceptance of births out of wedlock have contributed to the increase.
Swaziland's 'urban crescent' sweeps from Manzini in the centre up through the Matsapha Industrial Estate and the upmarket Ezulwini Valley, to the capital, Mbabane, in the northern mountains.
The Swazi, a Bantu people, speak SiSwati, a language similar to IsiZulu. Most are Christian, though traditional tribal animist beliefs are recognised, if not practised.
Development indicators
More than two-thirds of Swaziland's 1.2 million people live on less than US$1 a day. According to UNDP, the below-five infant mortality rate is 156 per 1,000 births. There are 16 doctors for every 100,000 people, and 74 percent of births are attended by a skilled health professional. Government health expenditure amounts to US$195 per person per annum.
The average unemployment rate in Swaziland is about 40 percent. The closure of manufacturing companies in urban areas, retrenchment from South African mines and limited domestic employment opportunities are the main causes of high unemployment.
Education
Swaziland's literacy rate is 79.6 percent. Net primary school enrolment is 77 percent, but only 44 percent at secondary school level. Dropout rates are increasing because of poverty and HIV/AIDS. Education is neither free nor compulsory in Swaziland. The government has committed itself to paying the fees for AIDS orphans, but has failed to fully meet this pledge because of financial constraints.
Children
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated the number of AIDS orphans at 80,000 in 2006, and expects 120,000 by 2010. Efforts to sustain orphans and vulnerable children include the establishment of Neighbourhood Care Points in rural areas, and Child Care Points in towns - community-based centres where children can receive care and support, and a daily meal.
Abuse of children, both sexual and physical, is an ongoing and growing problem. The judicial system has instituted 'child friendly' courts to facilitate convictions for child abuse.
Health
Life expectancy has dipped to 33 years, from 49 years in 1975, because of HIV/AIDS. The pandemic has erased almost all post-independence strides made in healthcare.
HIV/AIDS
Swaziland has the world's highest HIV prevalence rate - 33.4 percent of sexually active adults aged between 15 and 49.
The government is committed to providing free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, and about 30,000 patients receive ARVs at government hospitals and clinics, but the distribution of ARVs has been hindered by the reluctance of many Swazis to find out their HIV status. HIV/AIDS support groups have complained about erratic availability of the drugs.
Food security
Drought has hit the southern Shiselweni and eastern Lubombo regions. Most of the central Manzini region receives decent rainfall, and remains the breadbasket of the country. The northern Hhohho region receives fair to good rain, but mountainous terrain prohibits wide-scale agriculture. Formerly arid areas of the northern lowveld have been transformed into productive land by irrigation, but the agricultural plantations established there produce cash crops for export.
Gender issues
Written guarantees of gender equality in the constitution are undermined by cultural practices. Women are largely dependent financially on men, or culturally conditioned to submit. Women bear the brunt of the HIV/AIDS crisis, causing life expectancy for women to drop below that of men for the first time in the country's recorded history.
Human rights
The new constitution contains a Bill of Rights, but the police regularly refuse to grant permission for political marches and demonstrations, and political parties remain banned. Press freedom is circumscribed by state control or self-censorship.
There are no restrictions on religion, and worshippers practise their faiths without state interference.
Humanitarian needs
Swaziland requires international assistance to feed approximately 25 percent of its most vulnerable people, including orphans, child-headed households, households affected by HIV/AIDS and TB, and children needing school feeding. |
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| Swaziland in figures | · Population: 1 million
· Pop growth rate: -0.4%
· GDP per capita: US$5,638
· Pop. below poverty line: 66%
· Life expectancy: 31.3 years
· Infant mortality: 108 per 1,000
· Access to med. services: 90%
· HIV prevalence: 33.4%
· Access to electricity: N/A
· Literacy rate: 79.6%
· Doctors/people: 16 per 100,000
· Displaced people: N/A
· Refugees: N/A
· Human Development Index: 0.0547 (HDI 2006 Rank 146)
Source: UNDP |
| Basic facts | Capital: Mbabane
Language: SiSwati, English
Ethnic groups: Swazi 90%, Other 10%
Religions: African Zionist 40%, Anglican 30%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%
Geography: Landlocked, semi-arid to tropical, with good rainfall in mountainous areas
Border countries: South Africa, Mozambique
Natural resources: Coal, iron ore, semiprecious stones
Agricultural produce: Sugar, timber, citrus, cotton, dairy
Sources: EIU, Reuters AlertNet, NI |
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