Mbabane, town and administrative capital of Swaziland, in Hhohho District, located on a high plateau in the western part of the country, near the border with South Africa. Mbabane is the nation's largest community and its chief administrative, commercial, and transportation center. A railroad connects the town with nearby coal mines and with the Indian Ocean port of Maputo, in Mozambique.
Mbabane developed in the late 19th century near the residence of the Swazi king Mbandzeni. It grew as an administrative center while Swaziland was a British dependency (1903-1968) and became the administrative center of the newly independent nation in 1968. Population (1990 estimate) 46,000.
