Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m
Natural resources:
asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold
and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc
Land use: arable land: 10.25% permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005)
Irrigated land:
500 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
drought
Environment - current issues:
limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being
depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil
degradation; soil erosion
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa
People Swaziland
Population:
1,136,334
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
2006 est.)