Eswatini, officially Swaziland until 2018, traditionally unofficially also kaNgwane, is a landlocked country in southern Africa. It borders South Africa and Mozambique. The national holiday is September 6, the anniversary of independence in 1968. The form of government is in fact an absolute monarchy. The country's two largest cities are the administrative capital, Mbabane, and the economic center, Manzini. The seat of government is Lobamba.
geography
With an area of 17,363 square kilometers, the kingdom is
the second smallest country on the African continent after Gambia. The
landlocked country's neighboring countries are Mozambique to the east
and the South African provinces of Mpumalanga to the north and west and
KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The total length of the state border is 535
kilometers, of which 105 kilometers are shared with Mozambique and 430
kilometers with South Africa. The Lusutfu, also known as the Great Usutu
River and later Maputo, is the longest river in the country. Eswatini is
divided into four regions: Hhohho (to the north and north-west), Manzini
to the west and centre, Shiselweni to the south and Lubombo to the east.
Eswatini is divided into four topographical zones from west to east.
In the west of the country lies the Highveld (upland), which has an
average altitude of 1300 m and goes west into the South African
Drakensberg. The highest elevation within Eswatini is the 1862 m high
Emlembe near the western border. About a sixth of the highlands is
covered by forest. The capital Mbabane is in this region. The Middleveld
has an average elevation of around 700 m and consists of fertile hill
country. Manzini, the largest city in the country, is also located here.
To the east is the Lowveld, which consists mainly of scrubland and has
its lowest point at 21 m at the Lusutfu River. The lowlands are mainly
used for sugar cane cultivation. Along the eastern border of Eswatini
lies the southern part of the Lubombo Mountains (also Lebombo
Mountains), with the 776 m high Mount Mananga.
climate
The
climate zones correspond to the four landscape zones and are subtropical
overall. The Highveld gets the most rain at over 1000mm. Most
precipitation falls in summer (October to March). Mostly there are
showers, prolonged rainfall is rare. The temperatures are predominantly
warm or mild. Humidity is mostly high; in Mbabane, average summer
temperatures reach 26°C. In winter they drop to around 13 °C. There is
significantly less rainfall in the Lowveld. The climate is warmest here.
The Lubombo Mountains also have a dry, subtropical climate with slightly
cooler temperatures than in the Lowveld.
bodies of water
Hydrologically, the country is divided into four catchment areas. All of
its precipitation drains eastwards via these into Maputo Bay. The north,
with 2500 km² and 14% of the country's area, drains over the Komati,
which brushes the land. The headwaters and tributaries of the Mbuluzi
rise in the middle and east, covering more than 10% of the area. The
entire south drains into the Maputo, whose catchment area of around
12,000 km² makes up 69% of the country's area. In the extreme east there
is a small part that drains over the Tembe.
Most of the country's
lakes are reservoirs. The largest are Mnjoli Reservoir, Maguga Dam and
Pongolapoort Reservoir. The latter is mostly on the territory of South
Africa and only extends into the territory of Eswatini when the water
level is high.
Over 90% of the population of Eswatini belong to
the Swazi Bantu people. Sotho, Zulu, Tsonga, White and Coloureds also
live there.
The average fertility rate per woman for the period
2015-2020 was 3.02 children. During the same period, there were an
average of 26.7 births and 9.4 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The average
life expectancy at birth in 2017 was 52.1 years (women: 51.5 years, men:
52.7 years). The median age was 21.7 years. Population growth was 1.08%
per year in 2017. Eswatini is among the African countries with the
lowest percentage of population growth. Reasons for this are lower
fertility, high mortality from AIDS and emigration (mainly to South
Africa).
languages and religions
Almost all Swazi speak
siSwati, a Nguni language, as their mother tongue. A few residents speak
isiZulu or Xitsonga as their first language. English is the language of
education, lingua franca and the second official language in Eswatini.
For example, the websites of the government, public administration,
energy and water suppliers, companies, banks, media, etc. are written
exclusively in English; de facto no Eswatini websites can be found in
siSwati.
Around 90% of Eswatini's residents are Christians. It is
estimated that 40% of the population belong to the Zion Christian Church
(ZCC), which is widespread in southern Africa, and about 5% to the Roman
Catholic Church. The Catholics are combined in the Diocese of Manzini.
Education
Although schooling is not compulsory and there is a
fee to attend school, a large proportion of children attend primary
schools, which last up to the 7th grade. At the same time, around
12% of 5-14 year olds work (as of 2001). The proportion of children
who attend secondary school is around 47%. Illiterates are clearly
in the minority.
Eswatini has had its own university since
1973, the University of Eswatini, renamed in 2018. It is based in
Kwaluseni; some faculties are located in Luyengo and Mbabane. There
are also other institutions in the tertiary education sector, both
public and private.
Until the second half of the 20th
century, the education sector was determined by mission stations.
Leading churches in this context included the Nazarenes, including
some of their associated groups, as well as the Methodists and the
Anglicans. At least until 1945, Eswatini was part of the former High
Commission Territories (BLS states) that provided education through
the Primary Standards, then up to Standard VIII/age 16. Established
in 1908, St Mark's School (Anglican) in Mbabane offered full
secondary education. The Goedgegun school (state) went only up to
Junior Certificate and offered training in an agricultural
department. These were educational offers for students from the
population of European descent.
The widespread schooling for
members of the Swazi went to the above same period up to Standard
IV, but usually only up to II or III, but in two cases up to the
Junior Certificate. Altogether there were about 100 schools for this
population in 1945 (financed by the state or with state funds).
There were also three Swazi national schools with primary education.
Only one of these three institutions funded by the Swazi National
Fund offered a Junior Certificate level degree. The latter, the
Matapa School founded in 1932, had professional training
opportunities in the field of industrial and agricultural job
profiles. It also served as a school for the chiefs' sons and was
directly overseen by a government commission.
Health
The
rate of HIV infection is the highest in the world. In 2004, 39% of
the population was infected with the causative agent of the
immunodeficiency disease, in 2005 it was already 42%, adjusted for
the elderly and children around 63%. Between 2008 and 2013 the
infection rate was slightly reduced. In 2019, the proportion of
people infected with HIV in the 15 to 49 age group was 27.3%. Over
3000 people die from the disease every year. AIDS is one of the main
reasons for the low life expectancy, at times the lowest in the
world. It reached its lowest point in 2005 at 42.5 years, 44.6 years
for women and 40.7 years for men. Since then, however, it has
increased again continuously and was around 59.4 years in 2019, 64.0
years for women and 55.3 years for men. In addition to the low
fertility rate and migration to South Africa, this is one of the
reasons for the very low population growth by African standards.
Despite the progress the country has made, health care is still
rudimentary. 88.3% of births are attended by qualified medical staff
(as of 2019). Infant mortality is 40.8 per 1000 births, maternal
mortality is 389 per 100,000 births (as of 2019). 66% of married
women have access to contraception (as of 2019).
Progress has
been made in the fight against malnutrition and hunger. In 2014,
5.8% of small children were malnourished. At the same time, 16.5% of
adults are severely overweight.