摘要：The Kingdom of Swaziland, covering an area of 17 363 square kilometres, is the second smallest political state in Africa after Gambia. It is completely landlocked, sharing borders with the Republic of South Africa to the southwest and north. The Republic of Mozambique lies to the east and separates it from the Indian Ocean. The CSO (1995) estimated that 56 percent of the population is economically active. Of the economically active people, 78 percent are employed and 32 percent are unemployed. Although Swaziland is classified as a middle- income country, poverty is a big problem as is evident from the fact that the consumption-based poverty line has risen from 49 percent in 1980 to 1988 to 60 percent in 1995 (UNDP 1999:68). Income statistics furthermore reflect a significant skewness in that the poorest ten percent of the population accounts for 1,4 percent of the total income while the richest ten percent accounts for 42,9 percent of the total income (UNDP 1999:48). The incidence of rural poverty is 25 percent higher than in urban areas.
