Hydrogeology of Swaziland
Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Hydrogeology by country >> Hydrogeology of Swaziland
This page has limited information and needs to be updated. If you have more information on the hydrogeology of Swaziland, please get in touch!
Compilers
Dr Kirsty Upton and Brighid Ó Dochartaigh, British Geological Survey, UK
Please cite this page as: Upton & Ó Dochartaigh, 2016.
Bibliographic reference: Upton, K. & Ó Dochartaigh, B.É. 2016. Africa Groundwater Atlas: Hydrogeology of Swaziland. British Geological Survey. Accessed [date you accessed the information]. https://earthwise.bgs.ac.uk/index.php/Hydrogeology_of_Swaziland
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The Africa Groundwater Atlas is hosted by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and includes information from third party sources. Your use of information provided by this website is at your own risk. If reproducing diagrams that include third party information, please cite both the Africa Groundwater Atlas and the third party sources. Please see the Terms of use for more information.
Geographical Setting
General
Estimated Population in 2013* | 1,249,514 |
Rural Population (% of total) (2013)* | 78.7% |
Total Surface Area* | 17,200 sq km |
Agricultural Land (% of total area) (2012)* | 71% |
Capital City | Lobamba (royal / legislative); Mbabane (administrative) |
Region | Southern Africa |
Border Countries | Mozambique, South Africa |
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal (2013)* | 1,042 Million cubic metres |
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Agriculture (2013)* | 96.6% |
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Domestic Use (2013)* | 2.6% |
Annual Freshwater Withdrawal for Industry (2013)* | 1.2% |
Rural Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)* | 68.9% |
Urban Population with Access to Improved Water Source (2012)* | 93.6% |
* Source: World Bank
Climate
More information on average rainfall and temperature for each of the climate zones in Swaziland can be seen at the Swaziland climate page.
These maps and graphs were developed from the CRU TS 3.21 dataset produced by the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, UK. For more information see the climate resource page.
Surface water
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Soil
Land cover
Geology
The geology map shows a simplified overview of the geology at a national scale (see the Geology resource page for more details). More information is available in the report UN (1989) (see References section, below).
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Hydrogeology
The hydrogeology map below shows a simplified overview of the type and productivity of the main aquifers at a national scale (see the Hydrogeology map resource page for more details).
More information on the hydrogeology of Swaziland is available in the report United Nations (1989) (see References section, below).
Swaziland is also covered by the SADC hydrogeological map and atlas (2010), available through the SADC Groundwater Information Portal.
Transboundary aquifers
For further information about transboundary aquifers, please see the Transboundary aquifers resources page.
References
Online resources
SADC Groundwater Information Portal
General information on surface water and groundwater resources in SADC
References with more information on the geology and hydrogeology of Swaziland can be accessed through the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive.
United Nations. 1989. Groundwater in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa: Swaziland. United Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development.
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