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World > Africa > Swaziland
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Swaziland |
Introduction:
Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, the world's last ruling monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection.
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Official name: |
Kingdom of Swaziland |
Capital: |
name: Mbabane geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) |
Government type: |
monarchy |
Population: |
1,133,066 note: 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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Languages: |
English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Official Currency: |
Swaziland Lilangeni (SZL) |
Currency code: |
SZL |
Area: |
total: 17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Climate: |
varies from tropical to near temperate |
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Map of Swaziland
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