Geography of Swaziland
Swaziland is considered to be a large nation because of its total area. Its total land area is 17,364 km² (approx. 6,704 mi²). Continental shelf of Swaziland is approximately 0 km² (around 0 mi²). Swaziland is located in Africa. Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most populous continent. African countries include, but are not limited to, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Swaziland has 2 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Mozambique, South Africa. Swaziland is a landlocked country. The average elevation range of Swaziland is 305 m (1,001 ft).
Neighbors
Total length of land borders of Swaziland is 546 kilometers (~211 miles). Swaziland shares its land borders with 2 different countries, and has the same number of unique land boundaries to neigbouring territories. As in the case of Swaziland, if a country has the same number of unique neighboring territories as number of land borders, than that country has no non-contiguous sections of a land border. This is in contrast to several countries that have multiple non-contiguous sections of land borders. Swaziland has 2 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Mozambique, and South Africa. The lengths of the land borders of Swaziland with its neighbouring countries are as follows:
- Mozambique - 105 km (65 mi),
- South Africa - 430 km (267 mi).
Cities
The capital city of Swaziland is Mbabane (administrative); Lobamba (royal and legislative). The largest cities in Swaziland are Mbabane, Lobamba, Manzini .
Elevation
The average elevation range of Swaziland is 305 m (1,001 ft). The highest point of Swaziland is Emlembe, with its official height being 1862 m (6,109 ft). The lowest point of Swaziland is Maputo River. It lies at 21 m (69 ft) above the sea level. The elevation difference between the highest (Emlembe) and lowest (Maputo River) points of Swaziland is 1841 m (2 ft).
Area
The total land area of Swaziland is 17,364 km² (approx. 6,704 mi²). and the total exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is 0 km² (~0 mi²). The continental shelf of Swaziland is approximately 0 km² (around 0 mi²). Including land mass and EEZ, the total area of Swaziland is approximately 17,364 km² (~6,704 mi²). Swaziland is considered to be a large nation because of its total area.
Forest and arable land
174 km² of Swaziland's territory is covered in forests, and forest land comprises 1% of all the land in the country. There are 1,763 km² of arable land in Swaziland, and it comprises 10% of the country's total territory.
Read our section on climate to discover what parameters affect these and other biomes of the country.
Natural resources
The most notable natural resources found in Swaziland are asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc.