Eswatini, officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and also known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west and south. At no more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) north to south and 130 kilometres (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
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.
The lilangeni is the currency of Eswatini and is subdivided into 100 cents. It is issued by the Central Bank of Eswatini. The South African rand is also accepted in the country. Similar to the Lesotho loti, there are singular and plural abbreviations, namely L and E, so where one might have an amount L1, it would be E2, E3, or E4.
The Swazi or Swati are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa, predominantly inhabiting modern Eswatini and South Africa's Mpumalanga province. The Swati are part of the Nguni family that can be archaeologically traced in East Africa where the same tradition, beliefs and cultural practices are found. The Swati share a unique experience, culture and Royal lineage. This lineage is exclusive to the inhabitants of Eswatini, even though there have been more Swazi people that have moved to South Africa and the United Kingdom in the 20th century. The original inhabitants of Eswatini no longer reside in Eswatini as a majority population while some remain in the land. The Swazi people and the Kingdom of Eswatini today are named after Mswati II, who became king in 1839 after the death of his father King Sobhuza who strategically defeated the British who occupied Swaziland. The Kingdom of Swaziland was a region occupied by the San people of Southern Africa and the current Swazis came in from North Eastern regions through to Mozambique and eventually Swaziland in the 15th century. Mixtures with the San people and other Nguni tribes occurred. Their royal lineage can be traced to a chief named Dlamini I; this is still the royal clan name. About three-quarters of the clan groups are Nguni; the remainder are Sotho, Tsonga, others North East African and San descendants. These groups have intermarried freely. There are slight differences among Swazis as a nation with varying features and skin tones yet Swazi identity extends to all those with allegiance to the twin monarchs Ingwenyama "the Lion" and Indlovukati "the She-Elephant". The dominant Swati language and culture are factors that unify Swazis as a nation since there is no other language spoken except for English.
The Eswatini national football team, nicknamed Sihlangu Semnikati, is the national team of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, and is controlled by the Eswatini Football Association. It has never qualified for the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations finals. Swaziland's best performance in an international tournament is a semi-final finish in the COSAFA Cup.
.sz is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Eswatini. The Swaziland ISP Association ("SISPA") is responsible for assigning .SZ domain names.
Lobamba is the traditional, spiritual, and legislative capital city of Eswatini, seat of the Parliament, and residence of the Ntombi, the Queen Mother. Mswati III lives about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away at the Lozitha Palace. The King and Queen Mother participate in annual December and January Incwala ceremonies and August and September Reed Dancees at the Royal Kraal.
The House of Assembly of Eswatini is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. The Assembly may debate and pass bills.
In Eswatini, an inkhundla is an administrative subdivision smaller than a district but larger than an umphakatsi. There are 55 tinkhundla in Eswatini: 14 in Hhohho District, 11 in Lubombo District, 16 in Manzini District, and 14 in Shishelweni District. According to the constitution of Eswatini, the government for Eswatini is a democratic, participatory, tinkhundla-based system that emphasizes devolution of state power from central government to tinkhundla areas and individual merit as a basis for election or appointment to public office. The system is non-partisan since the constitution does not recognize political parties, although section 25 of the constitution allows for open freedom of assembly and association. Each inkhundla elects one representative to the House of Assembly of Eswatini, the lower chamber of the bicameral parliament (Libandla). The same trend is applied in local government elections. This governing system was designed by King Sobhuza II with the assistance of political scholars and lawyers. It came to effect in 1978 and was adjusted in the early 1990s.
The Eswatini Football Association (EFA), formerly known as the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) is the governing body of football in Eswatini. It was founded in 1968, and affiliated to FIFA in 1978 and to CAF in 1976. It organizes the national football league and the national team.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Eswatini:
ISO 3166-2:SZ is the entry for Eswatini in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.
Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini is the current Minister of ICT of Eswatini and eldest daughter of King Mswati III of Eswatini.
Sibebe Survivor is a famous annual hike in Mbuluzi, Eswatini, involving a climb to the top of Sibebe, the world's second largest single granite monolith. Initiated by the Rotary Club of Mbabane-Mbuluzi in July 2004, the Sibebe Survivor hike follows a course from Mbuluzi High School to the top of the rock and back. The number of participants has increased annually, with almost 3,300 climbers in 2011. Due to growing interest in the event, a website has been created for online registration to avoid long queues on registration day.
The Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, previously the Swaziland Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, is the National Olympic Committee representing Eswatini. It was created in 1968 and officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1972. Following the country's name change in April 2018 the Swaziland Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association changed its name to the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association.
The Mater Dolorosa Church or just Mater Dolorosa Parish, is the name given to a Catholic church located in the city of Mbabane, Eswatini. This just to one side of the same name Secondary and Elementary School..
Tatenda Mandaza, known professionally as Tendaness, is a Swati-born record producer, DJ and songwriter.
Elias 'The Horse' Tsabalaka is a Malawian retired footballer born in Zimbabwe.
Valère Billen is a Belgian football coach. He has coached in Ivory Coast where he managed Satellite FC Abidjan.
