Swaziland's King Mswati III has changed his country's name to eSwatini. This means "land of the Swazis". The king is an absolute monarch, so he has the power to change his country. He spoke at the nation's Golden Jubilee celebrations, which was also his 50th birthday. He said: "African countries, on getting independence, reverted to their...names before they were colonized. So from now on, the country will officially be known as...eSwatini."
King Mswati often uses eSwatini in his parliament, and at the UN and the African Union. Swaziland got its independence from Britain in 1968 but kept its colonial name. Other former British colonies changed their names. Nyasaland became Malawi and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe. King Mswati said that people would no longer confuse his country with Switzerland. The UN, Google Maps and Internet companies now have to change their databases.