Agriculture
- Total Area: 17,364 kilometers squared
- Land Area: 17,204 kilometers squared
- Water Area: 160 kilometers squared
- Climate Description
- To the west, the higher elevation share a climate of wet summers and dry winters while the lowlands experience a more tropical subtropical climate. Temperatures tend to be hottest in the lowlands with an average temperature of 71 degrees Fahrenheit. In the summer it averages at 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Rainfall varies in seasons. The wettest season is from October to March. Some extreme weathers are tropical cyclones and droughts.
- Terrain Description
- The Lubombo Mountains are along the eastern edge of Swaziland. The highest mountain is the Drakensberg Mountains. The country's landscape varies from sloping plains to rolling hills in central and west. The country's largest river is the Great Usutu or Lusutfu. Other rivers include the Mbuluzi and Ngwavuma.
- Arable Land Use: 10.08%
- Permanent Crop Land Use: 0.86%
- Irrigated Land: 498.5 kilometers squared
- Total Renewable Water Resources: 4.51 cubic kilometers
- Total Freshwater Withdrawal: 1.04 cubic kilometers per year
- Per Person Freshwater Withdrawal: 962.1 cubic meters per year
- Natural Hazards Description
- Drought- A large proportion of rural households practice subsistence agriculture. 66% are unable to meet basic food needs while 43% live in chronic poverty. When drought hit in 2004 and 2005, more than 1/4 of the population needed emergency food aid. in 2007, Swaziland experienced one of its worst droughts which led to major food insecurity.
- Environmental Current Issues
- Limited supplies of protable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion
- Total Labor Force: 424,100
- % of Labor Force in Agriculture: 70%
- Agricultural Products Description
- Agricultural products include sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, and peanuts. In livestock, Swaziland has cattle, goats, and sheep primarily.
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