Eswatini

Estwatini, formery known as Swaziland, is a land-locked country nearly the size of New Jersey and positioned almost entirely in South Africa. Although its freedom was recognized in the 1880’s, it became a protectorate of South Africa and later of the UK until 1968. The country is still an absolute monarchy, the last country in Africa that can make such a claim. Estwatini can also boast the longest-ruling monarch in history: a king who reigned nearly eighty-three years. However, the current political climate is against the monarchy’s continuance.

Although literacy is high - over eighty-eight percent - the opportunities for their educated young people are low. Nearly sixty-percent of its citizens are below the poverty line, and unemployment is high. Due to disease and the lack of sufficient medical facilities, the life expectancy for their citizens is only fifty-nine years of age.

While both English and siSwati are official languages, siSwati is used most commonly, and English is largely reserved for legal transactions and in business. Although it has only a little over a million citizens, a great variety of religions are represented in this small country. Eastern religions, Islam, cults, Catholicism, and different "Christianistic" denominations can all be found here. By far the largest religion group, however, is the Zionist church — a syncretized belief combining animism and ancestor worship with Christian terms and practices.

Missionaries in Eswatini:

Missionaries in Africa (listed with BIMI account numbers)