Swaziland has a new name – eswatini

GENEVA: Swaziland may be changing its name to avoid confusion with Switzerland, a Swiss newspaper has reported.

The announcement was made by Swaziland’s 50-year-old monarch Mswati III on April 19, the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain. King Mswati said that the country would revert to its original name, eswatini.

The Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger reported that Swaziland is not merely removing a relic of its colonial past, but is also trying to avoid confusion with Switzerland.

It noted that both are small, landlocked, mountainous countries.

The one is in southern Africa and is classed as a lower-middle income country; the other is in western Europe and one of the wealthiest nations in the world.

Both countries are small but with big neighbours. Just 200km from north to south and 130km from east to west, Swaziland is one of the smallest countries in Africa.

Switzerland, with a total area of 41285km², is dominated by bigger neighbours.

There is also some diplomatic confusion that has arisen about the two countries.

“On foreign trips, we are always being referred to as Swiss,” complained King Mswati III, according to the paper.

The Swiss newspaper also cited that the FBI in the US has mixed up Swaziland with Switzerland in the past.

In a report last year into alleged Russian hacking, it listed IP addresses as being from Swaziland when they were Swiss.