Mining has declined in
importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines
remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short
border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South
Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports
and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is
pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary
policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African
Customs Union, which may equal as much as 70% of government revenue
this year, and worker remittances from South Africa substantially
supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland is not poor enough
to merit an IMF program; however, the country is struggling to
reduce the size of the civil service and control costs at public
enterprises. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for
foreign investment. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate,
Swaziland's need to increase the number and size of small and medium
enterprises and attract foreign direct investment is acute.
Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist
as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population
needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly
two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.

Sweden
Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole of the 20th
century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a
mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits.
It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external
communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and
iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented
toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of
industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50%
of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 1% of GDP and
2% of employment. Sweden is in the midst of a sustained economic
upswing, boosted by increased domestic demand and strong exports.
This and robust finances have offered the center-right government
considerable scope to implement its reform program aimed at
increasing employment, reducing welfare dependence, and streamlining
the state's role in the economy. The government plans to sell $31
billion in state assets during the next three years