Population: Nationality: Ethnic groups: Languages: Religions: Demographic profile: Age structure: Dependency ratios: Median age: Population growth rate: Birth rate: Death rate: Net migration rate: Urbanization: Major urban areas - population: Sex ratio: Mother's mean age at first birth: Maternal mortality rate: Infant mortality rate: Life expectancy at birth: Total fertility rate: Contraceptive prevalence rate: Health expenditures: Physicians density: Hospital bed density: Drinking water source: Sanitation facility access: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS - deaths: Major infectious diseases: Obesity - adult prevalence rate: Children under the age of 5 years underweight: Education expenditures: Literacy: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
1,451,428
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 155
[see also: Population country ranks ]
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi
African 97%, European 3%
English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official)
Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other 30% (includes Anglican, Baha'i, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish)
Swaziland, 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(frequent droughts and intermittent heavy rains and flooding), overuse of small plots, the overgrazing of cattle, and outdated agricultural practices reduce crop yields and further degrade the environment, exacerbating Swaziland’s poverty and subsistence problems. Swaziland’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.
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 Swaziland’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 Swaziland. Much of today’s migration, however, is not work-related but focuses on visits to family and friends, tourism, and shopping.
0-14 years: 35.5% (male 260,507/female 254,811)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 22.19% (male 162,880/female 159,229)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 34.12% (male 256,696/female 238,471)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.28% (male 24,758/female 37,399)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 21,842/female 34,835) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
total dependency ratio: 69.3%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 63.2%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 6.1%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 16.5% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
total: 21.4 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 21.2 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 21.7 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 181
1.1% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
24.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 58
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
13.4 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
urban population: 21.3% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 1.32% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
MBABANE (capital) 66,000 (2014)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.66 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
19.5
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2006/07 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
389 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
total: 50.4 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 54.4 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 46.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 33
total population: 51.6 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 52.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 51 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 221
2.74 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 66
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
65.2% (2010)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
9.3% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 49
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]
0.17 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
2.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
improved:
urban: 93.6% of population
rural: 68.9% of population
total: 74.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved:
urban: 6.4% of population
rural: 31.1% of population
total: 25.9% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]
improved:
urban: 63.1% of population
rural: 56% of population
total: 57.5% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved:
urban: 36.9% of population
rural: 44% of population
total: 42.5% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]
28.8% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
218,600 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
3,800 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2016)
14.8% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 98
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
5.8% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
7.1% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.5%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 87.4%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 87.5% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
total: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years (2013)