Population growth declines

Swaziland's economic and planning minister this week told parliament that the country's population growth rate has declined from 3.2 percent per annum between 1976 and 1986 to 2.9 percent between 1986 and 1997, PANA reported. Majozi Sithole said given the 2.9 percent growth rate, the population was currently estimated at one million people. He said, however, that the 1997 census indicated that the country's population was 980,722. Sithole said the one million figure was a rough estimate as the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic had not been taken into account. "More accurate estimates will be obtained once population projections incorporating the effect of HIV/AIDS are produced," Sithole said, adding that non-Swazi citizens accounted for 2 percent of the population.