Introduction
The country of Eswatini is located deep in the southern region of Africa. Once a British protectorate starting in the late 19th century during Britain's colonization of Africa, the country gained independence from Britain in 1968. It was then known as Swaziland until April 2018, when King Mswati III officially changed the country's name to Eswatini. The purpose of the name change was to "shed vestiges of the country's colonial past" (Dwyer, 2018). Eswatini is Africa's last remaining absolute monarchy. The country shares a portion of its eastern border with Mozambique and is otherwise surrounded by South Africa. Approximately 1,087,200 people reside in Eswatini.
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Geography
At 17,364 square kilometers, Eswatini is slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey. It is a landlocked country with a terrain consisting mostly of mountains, hills, and grassy slopes, as well as some savannas and rainforests. The land is divided into four physiographic regions: the Highveld, Middleveld, Lowveld, and the Lubombo. The regions are strips of land that run longitudinally through the country (north to south). The Highveld, which covers about thirty percent of the western area of the country, consists of granite and other metamorphic rocks which have formed a rugged mountainous terrain. Its average elevation is between 3,500 and 4,500 feet, with the highest point, the summit of Bulembu, reaching the height of 6,108 feet. The Swazi people sometimes refer to the Highveld as "Inkangala," which means "cold, treeless place."
The Middleveld region is east of the Highveld, and is home to grassy highlands and wide, lush valleys. Its average altitude is 2,00 to 2,500 feet. The region covers approximately twenty-five percent of the country, and is widely considered to be the heartland of the nation. To the east of the Middleveld, the Lowveld covers forty percent of Eswatini and its altitude is between 500 and 1,000 feet. The soil here is very fertile, and the region is a prime example of typical African savanna. The Lubombo is the eastern-most strip of the country as well as the smallest, only covering about five percent of the land of Eswatini. It consists of an abrupt slope that rises from the lowlands of the Lowveld to a plateau at 2,000 feet in altitude (Masson, 2019).
The climate ranges from tropical to somewhat temperate, and varies throughout the four geographic regions. Eswatini is home to many species of wildlife, such as impala, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephants, giraffes, and zebras. However, these large animals are becoming rare outside of wildlife reserves due to loss of habitat caused by human development.
The Middleveld region is east of the Highveld, and is home to grassy highlands and wide, lush valleys. Its average altitude is 2,00 to 2,500 feet. The region covers approximately twenty-five percent of the country, and is widely considered to be the heartland of the nation. To the east of the Middleveld, the Lowveld covers forty percent of Eswatini and its altitude is between 500 and 1,000 feet. The soil here is very fertile, and the region is a prime example of typical African savanna. The Lubombo is the eastern-most strip of the country as well as the smallest, only covering about five percent of the land of Eswatini. It consists of an abrupt slope that rises from the lowlands of the Lowveld to a plateau at 2,000 feet in altitude (Masson, 2019).
The climate ranges from tropical to somewhat temperate, and varies throughout the four geographic regions. Eswatini is home to many species of wildlife, such as impala, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephants, giraffes, and zebras. However, these large animals are becoming rare outside of wildlife reserves due to loss of habitat caused by human development.
Culture
Eswatini has two official languages: siSwati and English, which is widely used even for official government business. Ethnically, the population is 97 percent African and 3 percent European/other. The African portion of the population is made up of several different tribal backgrounds, with Swazi being the largest one, making up more than eighty percent of the total population. The other tribal backgrounds are Zulu, Tsonga, and Afrikaner (Masson, 2019).
Despite recent changes in lifestyles brought on by a more global economy -- changes such as high literacy rates, improving standards of living, and an increase in education -- Swazi culture still emphasizes past traditions. The two main traditional cultural ceremonies are the Incwala, which is practiced in December, and the Umhlanga, which is practiced in August. The Incwala is a six-day event full of traditional tribal music and dancing which is meant to strengthen the bond of the nation and the kingship. The Umhlanga, also known as the Reed Dance, is a five-day affair in which the young Swazi women come together to cut reeds in order to repair structural damages.
Despite recent changes in lifestyles brought on by a more global economy -- changes such as high literacy rates, improving standards of living, and an increase in education -- Swazi culture still emphasizes past traditions. The two main traditional cultural ceremonies are the Incwala, which is practiced in December, and the Umhlanga, which is practiced in August. The Incwala is a six-day event full of traditional tribal music and dancing which is meant to strengthen the bond of the nation and the kingship. The Umhlanga, also known as the Reed Dance, is a five-day affair in which the young Swazi women come together to cut reeds in order to repair structural damages.
Economy
Eswatini is a lower-middle income country that depends on trading with South Africa for much of its revenue from imports and exports. Approximately half of the government's revenue is dependent on customs duties from the South African Customs Union. The largest export product is soft drinks and soft drink concentrate although droughts in recent years have had a detrimental effect on sugar production in Eswatini. Mining materials such a coal, gold, diamonds, and stone used to be an important industry but the scale of these operations have dwindled recently. a large strain on Eswatini's economy is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS; more twenty-five percent of Eswatini's adult population were infected with the virus as of 2017.