Eswatini

South Africa , a small kingdom located between South Africa and Mozambique . The capital is divided into Lobamba (monarchy and legislative) and Mbabane (administrative) .

In the past, it was the Kingdom of Swaziland , but on April 18, 2018 (local time), the country's name was changed to Kingdom of Eswatini, in Swati, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence. The meaning is the same as 'Land of the Swati people', so strictly speaking, it is not a change in the name of the country, but a change in the language in which the name is written.[4] BBC According to reports , the reason for doing this was because 'Swaziland' was uncomfortable with the fact that it was a name given by the British during the colonial era , and there were many cases of confusion with Switzerland .

It was adopted as a flag on October 6, 1968.



Another variant in use since 2011.

The topography is in the form of high and low. The western highlands are more populous than the eastern lowlands because the climate in the eastern lowlands is hot and dry, while the weather in the western highlands is moderately warm due to the high altitude. The highest peak is Mount Emlembe at the northwest tip, at 1,862m above sea level. The climate is different between the western and eastern regions. The western region has good weather of around 15℃ in winter and 20℃ in summer, and abundant precipitation of up to 2,000mm, but in the eastern region, precipitation is as low as 500mm and temperatures exceed 40℃ in summer.



Although not well known, the country is home to Sibebe Rock, the world's second-largest single granite rock after Uluru and the world's largest igneous rock .

Approximately around the 18th century, a small kingdom existed, which became the origin of present-day Eswatini, and was established in 1968 . It became independent from the British protectorate . On the African continent, it was the last British colony to become an independent country. South Africa had already become independent in 1931 , and all others had become independent by the mid- 1960s .

Britain had made Eswatini a constitutional monarchy, but as soon as it gained independence , it degenerated into an absolute monarchy .[5] This is in contrast to Lesotho , another small kingdom in South Africa , which suffered frequent coups after gaining independence from British colonial rule, but has been running a stable democracy since the 1980s .

There was actually a long- lived king named Sobhuza II, who ascended the throne at the age of 5 months and ruled as the king of the protectorate for a whopping 68 years , and for another 14 years after independence . Mswati III is the son whom he gave birth to at the age of 68 in 1968, when he gained independence . It is said that polygamy is encouraged thanks to the dictatorship that began there .

The king's official name is 'Ngwenyama' or 'iNgwenyama', which means 'lion'. This is a similar expression to the Zulu word 'ingonyama' that appears in the opening Circle of Life of The Lion King . Also, the King's mother, the National Mother, is called 'Ndlovukati', which means 'female elephant'. Speaking of the mother of the nation, it is a unique two-headed political system in which the king and the mother of the nation share power according to the constitution. This is because, according to Swati tradition, these two have shared political and ceremonial power. The reason is that the king does not directly appoint a successor, but rather a committee called Liqoqo selects the person who will serve as the next mother of the nation among the queens, that is, Ndlovukati, and the biological son of the queen elected here becomes the next king. King Mswati III was also able to reign thanks to his mother Ntombi being elected as Ndlovukati.

In the past, power was actually divided, but during the long -term power of the second generation, the real power was moved to the king, and the silver members remained a symbolic place. Although there is a prime minister and the National Assembly exists as a legislative department , as a real military state , the king is nominated for ministers, including the prime minister and many members of the National Assembly .

The current king, Mswati III, is famous for being talkative about women. Even though there are 13 to 14 queens, they continue to take young virgins as queens, and the queen selection contest, called the Umhlanga Reed Festival, was even covered by VJ Special Forces as a unique tradition. External media reports that Umhlanga is "when thousands of virgins cut reeds and offer them to the king and then dance half-naked in the meadows, then the king chooses his queen." The Eswatini government's refutation of this was also featured in Part 3 of the documentary <The Last Power> aired by SBS . If the king had chosen a queen every time the Reed Festival was held, there would have been over 60 queens by now, and the reason there are so many queens seems to be because of strategic marriages to unite the tribes .[6] It is said that in selecting a queen, the royal family's intentions are more important than the king's choice. The first and second queens are chosen by royal elders or tribal leaders, and the king can freely choose the third queen. So the third queen effectively acts as first lady .

The king is allowed to welcome his wife every year, but the queen says that he can not go anywhere without the permission of the king in the court guarded by the bodyguard. At the same time, it is said that it is all allowed to go to the United States with a security guard once a year .

Since independence, all previous prime ministers have been members of the royal family, Mr. Dlamini.[7] The National Assembly is bicameral and is located in Lobamba , the royal capital and legislative capital . There are no political parties, and all members of the National Assembly elected in general elections every five years are independent, and some members are appointed by the king.

2010 In September , an incident occurred in which the 12th queen had an affair with the Minister of Justice . They had been having a secret relationship to avoid the king's eyes, but were discovered by the Royal Guards under orders from the mother of the nation, who found them suspicious.

2012 In May , news broke that the sixth queen had decided to divorce, saying she could no longer endure the king's physical and mental abuse. # According to one media outlet, this is the third queen to leave after being unable to withstand the king's abuse. And in May 2013 , it was reported that a 22-year-old woman who was chosen as the 14th queen in 2007 had gone into exile in England with her mother . It is said that she was selected as queen when she was 15 years old, and she claims that "if she returns to her homeland, she could be tortured , beaten , or even killed." However, she was continuously denied political asylum from 2007 to 2011 .

In 2020, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, the great-grandson of the king's maternal grandfather and Prime Minister of Eswatini, died of COVID-19 . #

2021 On June 28 , as anti-government protests demanding democracy intensified, there were rumors that King Mswati III might flee the country. # As the protests intensified and 21 people died, martial law was declared, but it seemed to have calmed down in the end. #

This is a country where the AIDS problem is extremely serious. It has the highest infection rate in the world, with 26% of adults being infected. The ratio is more than 1 in 4 people. This figure is based on a 2009 CIA report, but it is relatively low. In other data, it is higher.

The blow is even greater as it is a poor country where about 60% of the people live on less than $1.25 a day. The United Nations Development Program assessed that if the current trend continues, the very existence of the country is at risk. Because AIDS is a consumptive disease that does not cause sudden death, we are experiencing a vicious cycle in which the higher the incidence rate, the poorer we become as a nation, and as we become poorer, it becomes more difficult to come up with preventive measures.

Therefore, in 2011 , the average life expectancy was temporarily ranked last in the world at 31.62 years for men and 32.15 years for women. However, this is a temporary phenomenon; the average life expectancy in 2000 was 61 years, and the average life expectancy in 2015 varies depending on statistics. Representative statistical agencies include the CIA and the World Bank, and according to them, the number has risen to approximately the late 50s. This is because enormous support has been invested throughout Africa to combat AIDS, including the free supply of $18 billion worth of AIDS treatments by global pharmaceutical companies .

According to laws enacted after 2012 , many problems that highlight pre-modernity still exist, such as those who are caught wearing miniskirts in Eswatini and are sentenced to imprisonment or fines . However, unlike other African countries where people are dying in droves due to civil war, the situation is stable.

In 2014 , King Mswati III announced his intention to provide 200 lilangeni (about 19,000 won) for living expenses to unmarried virgins . This is said to be part of AIDS prevention measures, and in South Africa , which is suffering from a similar phenomenon, it is viewed in a positive light, but other than that, it is viewed with skepticism. It is still unclear whether it is actually being implemented. #reference . The article says 20,000 won = 11 pounds, but the previous source is from the UK. The Daily Mail also recorded the amount converted from the original Lilangeni to pounds.

The national income per capita is around $4,000, which is near the middle in Africa . Although it is significantly lower than South Africa , Mauritius , Namibia , Botswana , Seychelles , and Angola , it is much higher than the Democratic Republic of the Congo , Zimbabwe , Tanzania , Mozambique , Lesotho , and Zambia .

However, the Gini coefficient is as high as 0.6, and the unemployment rate is high. In addition, the fact that GDP per capita is relatively high in Africa is in large part due to the country's heavy economic dependence on South Africa. In fact, most people live in poverty, barely surviving on their daily income, so many people go to South Africa to work to earn money.

However, in South Africa, people from Eswatini are often viewed with disdain. South Africa also has a high youth unemployment rate, and even if they do get a job, they often work for a salary that is extremely low compared to South Africa's economic level. Eswatini people work for a lower salary than this.

The economic growth rate is at a bad level. In the 2000s , the economic growth rate was 2.8%, which was nearly 2% lower than that of other South African countries, and in 2016 it was 0.5%. The gap between rich and poor is extreme, with the top 10% accounting for 50.2% of total income, the bottom 10% accounting for 1% of total income, and 95.6% of income dependent on South Africa.

Agricultural production is not sufficient for self-sufficiency due to insufficient rainfall, but the sugar cane produced in Eswatini is famous for its high quality and is also used as a raw material for Coca-Cola . Corn is one of the staple foods, and since there are a lot of cattle grazing, beef consumption is also high. Uniquely, rice is also produced. Rice grown and produced in the Fix Peak region of Hoho Province has a texture similar to our white rice.

It is said that 40% of Eswatini 's GDP comes from one Coca-Cola concentrate production plant. There is some controversy that this factory is the source of funds for the dictatorship, but it is said that the king's property is worth about $100 million. Of course, it may seem like a lot of money to the average person, but considering that this person is the king of an absolute monarchy and that this is money that was saved by squeezing the blood of the people for decades, it is true that it is a small amount.

This is only the amount of money the King has saved over several decades. With total assets of $100 million, he is not only inferior to the famous emirs of the Middle East , but also to the CEOs of many mid-sized companies in Korea . This is equivalent to the cost of a small building in central Seoul .[reference]

Of course, since Eswatini is a developing country, prices are very low, so even $100 million seems like a lot of money. In Eswatini, 20 to 30 dollars is equivalent to several million won in Korea.

Surprisingly, this is a country where manufacturing contributes a high percentage of GDP, reaching 37%, making it a country with the highest manufacturing sector in Africa. However, due to the characteristics of the country, most of the manufacturing industries are mainly textile and sugar processing, so unlike countries such as Korea or Ireland, which have a similarly high proportion of manufacturing, high value-added manufacturing is relatively absent.

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Netflix founder Reed Hastings served in the U.S. Peace Corps as a math teacher at a high school in rural northwestern Eswatini from 1983 to 1985 .