Current government officials

Languages: English, siSwati (both official)

Ethnicity/race: African 97%, European 3%

Religions: Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%; Roman Catholic 20%; Muslim 10%; Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish, and other 30%

Literacy rate: 87.8% (2011 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $6.259 billion; per capita $5,700. Real growth rate: 0%. Inflation: 6.1%. Unemployment: 40% (2006). Arable land: 10.08%. Agriculture: sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep. Labor force: 424,100 (2011). Industries: coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textiles and apparel. Natural resources: asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, talc. Exports: $1.603 billion (2013 est.): soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit. Imports: $1.545 billion (2013 est.): motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals. Major trading partners: South Africa, EU, U.S., Mozambique, Japan, Singapore (2004).

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 48,600 (2012); mobile cellular: 805,000 (2012). Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001). Radios: 170,000 (1999). Television broadcast stations: 3 plus relay stations (2007). Televisions: 23,000 (2000). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2,744 (2012). Internet users: 90,100 (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 301 km (2008). Highways: total: 3,594 km (2002). Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 14 (2013).

International disputes: In 2006, King Mswati III advocated resorting to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa.

Major sources and definitions