Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is an enclaved country within the border of South Africa. It is by far the largest of the world's three independent states completely surrounded by the territory of another country, with Vatican City and San Marino being the other two. Additionally, it is the only such state outside the Italian peninsula, and the only one that is not a microstate. Lesotho is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) and has a population of around 2 million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. The official language is Sesotho.
The economy of Eswatini is fairly diversified. Agriculture, forestry and mining account for about 13 percent of Eswatini's GDP whereas manufacturing represent 37 percent of GDP. Services – with government services in the lead – constitute the other 50 percent of GDP.
The Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) is the official armed national military of the Southern African Kingdom of Eswatini. is used primarily during domestic protests, with some border and customs duties; the force has never been involved in a foreign conflict. The army has struggled with high rates of HIV infection. Since measures were put in place the rate is dropping.
Christianity is the dominant religion in Eswatini. The relative prevalence percentages vary by source. According to Pew Research, over 88% of the total 1.2 million population of Eswatini express Christianity to be their faith, over 0.2% express no affiliation. According to the US State Department religious freedom report of 2012, local religious leaders estimate that 90% of Eswatini's population is Christian, 2% are Muslim, while under 10% belong to other religious groups. According to the CIA World Factbook, the distribution is 40% Zionist, 20% Roman Catholic, other Christians 30%, 2% Muslim and 8% other religions. In other sources such as Clay Potts, the religious demographics are 80% Christian, and 20% Islam and Traditional Swazi religion.
Since the end of apartheid foreign trade in South Africa has increased, following the lifting of several sanctions and boycotts which were imposed as a means of ending apartheid.
Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini was a Swazi business executive who served as the tenth prime minister of Eswatini, holding the office from October 2018 until his death on 13 December 2020.
The Southern Africa Customs Union and Mozambique (SACUM) is a customs union and trading bloc comprising the countries Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique. Its predecessor is the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). SACUM was created after Mozambique entered into the Southern African Customs Union.
The following lists events that happened during 2020 in Southern Africa. The countries are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for Africa|Southern Africa.
Events in the year 2020 in Eswatini.
The 2020 COSAFA U-20 Cup was the 27th edition of the COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup, an international youth football tournament open to national associations of the COSAFA region. It took place between 3 December and 13 December in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. Initially planned to be hosted by Mauritius, the competition was later shifted to South Africa after Mauritius withdrew as hosts due to the COVID-19 regulations. The matches were played at Port Elizabeth.
This is a list of events in 2021 in West Africa.
Events in the year 2021 in South Africa.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in Middle Africa, also called Central Africa.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in The Caribbean.
Events that happened during 2021 in East Africa. The countries listed are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for East Africa.
Events in the year 2021 in Eswatini.
Tropical Cyclone Eloise was the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the country of Mozambique since Cyclone Kenneth in 2019 and the second in a row of three consecutive tropical cyclones to impact Mozambique in the 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season. The seventh tropical depression, fifth named storm and the second tropical cyclone of the season, Eloise's origins can be traced to a disturbance over the central portion of the South-West Indian Ocean basin which developed into a tropical depression on 16 January, and strengthened into a tropical storm on 17 January, though the storm had limited strength and organization. On the next day, the storm entered a more favorable environment, and it soon intensified to a severe tropical storm on 18 January. Late on 19 January, Eloise made landfall in northern Madagascar as a moderate tropical storm, bringing with it heavy rainfall and flooding. The storm traversed Madagascar and entered the Mozambique Channel in the early hours of 21 January. After moving southwestward across the Mozambique Channel for an additional 2 days, Eloise strengthened into a Category 1-equivalent cyclone, due to low wind shear and high sea surface temperatures. Early on 23 January, Eloise peaked as a Category 2-equivalent tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson scale as the center of the storm began to move ashore on Mozambique. Shortly afterward, Eloise made landfall just north of Beira, Mozambique, before rapidly weakening. Subsequently, Eloise weakened into a remnant low over land on 25 January, dissipating soon afterward.
List of events that happened during 2021 in Oceania.
