Overview
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini and historically known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the east, where it shares a border with Mozambique. At no more than 200 km (120 mi) north to south and 130 km (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is the second smallest country in Africa.
Despite its small size, Eswatini features diverse climate and topography, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld. The executive capital and largest city is Mbabane, while Lobamba serves as the legislative and second capital.
People and Language
The population is composed primarily of ethnic Swazis. The prevalent language is Swazi, known as siSwati in its native form. The Swazi people established their kingdom in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Ngwane III. Both the country and the Swazi people take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule the country was greatly expanded and unified.
Government and Politics
Eswatini is an absolute monarchy, the last of its kind in Africa. The country has been ruled by King Mswati III since 1986. The government holds elections every five years to determine the House of Assembly and the Senate majority, though political parties are prohibited from running. Eswatini's constitution was adopted in 2005.
Modern History
The boundaries of Eswatini were drawn up in 1881 during the European Scramble for Africa. Following the Second Boer War, the kingdom, under the name of Swaziland, was a British high commission territory from 1903 until it regained its full independence on 6 September 1968. In April 2018, the king changed the official name from Kingdom of Swaziland to Kingdom of Eswatini, reflecting the name commonly used in the Swazi language.
Economy
Eswatini is a developing country classified as having a lower-middle income economy. As a member of the Southern African Customs Union and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, its main local trading partner is South Africa. To ensure economic stability, Eswatini's currency, the lilangeni, is pegged to the South African rand. The country's major overseas trading partners are the United States and the European Union.
The majority of the country's employment is provided by its agricultural and manufacturing sectors. Eswatini is also a member of the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations.
Health and Demographics
The Swazi population faces significant health challenges. HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are widespread, with 28 percent of the adult population being HIV-positive. As of 2018, Eswatini has the 12th-lowest life expectancy in the world, at 58 years. The population is notably young, with people aged 14 years or younger constituting 35 percent of the country's population and a median age of 22 years.
Ancient and Early History
Artifacts indicate human activity in the region dating back to the Early Stone Age, around 200,000 years ago. Prehistoric rock art paintings, dating from approximately 27,000 years ago to as recently as the 19th century, can be found throughout the country.
The earliest known inhabitants were Khoisan hunter-gatherers, who were largely replaced by the Nguni during the great Bantu migrations. These peoples originated from the Great Lakes region of eastern and central Africa. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about the 4th century, with Bantu-speaking peoples settling in the region no later than the 11th century.
Swazi Settlement and Kingdom Formation
The Swazi people, like other Bantu-speaking communities, brought cattle, seeds for cultivation, and handmade items such as iron, wood, animal skin, and clay products when they settled in the area between the Drakensberg Mountains and the Indian Ocean.
The Swazi trace their origins to the Embo-Dlamini, a branch of the Embo-Nguni that originally settled near present-day Delagoa Bay (Maputo) in Mozambique during the Bantu expansion. King Dlamini III led the Swazi people between approximately 1720 and 1744, working closely with his adviser Chief Mbokane. His son, Ngwane III, became the first King of modern Swaziland, and the country was named KaNgwane in his honor.
Under Sobhuza I, the Ngwane people established their capital at Zombodze in the heartland of present-day Eswatini, conquering and incorporating established clans known as the Emakhandzambili. Mswati II, a later king, was the greatest of the fighting kings of Swaziland and greatly extended the country's territory to twice its current size.
Colonial Period
In 1881, the British government signed a convention recognizing Swazi independence despite the Scramble for Africa occurring at the time. This independence was also recognized in the London Convention of 1884. However, in 1894, a convention placed Swaziland under the South African Republic as a protectorate.