View source for Economy of Eswatini

{{Short description|None}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2009}}
{{Infobox economy
| country = Eswatini
| image = Mbabane - City overview.jpg
| image_size = 310px
| caption = Capital of Eswatini
| currency = [[Swazi lilangeni]] (SZL), South African [[rand (currency)|rand]] (ZAR)
| year = 1 April - 31 March
| organs = [[African Union|AU]], [[African Continental Free Trade Agreement|AfCFTA]], [[World Trade Organization|WTO]], [[Southern African Development Community|SADC]], [[Southern African Customs Union|SACU]]
| gdp = {{plainlist|
* {{increase}} $5.48 billion ([[GDP (nominal)|nominal]]; {{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/SWZ |title=IMF DataMapper: Eswatini |website=[[International Monetary Fund]] |date=2025 |access-date=31 May 2025}}</ref>
* {{increase}} $16.32 billion ([[Purchasing power parity|PPP]]; {{abbr|2025|2025}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper"/> 
}}
| gdp rank = {{plainlist|
* [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|160th (nominal; 2025)]]
* [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|156th (PPP; 2025)]]
}}
| growth = {{plainlist|   
* {{Increase}} 5.0%&nbsp;(2023)<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
* {{Increase}} 3.7%&nbsp;(2024)<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
* {{Increase}} 5.1%&nbsp;({{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
* {{Increase}} 4.9%&nbsp;({{abbr|2026f|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper" />
}}
| per capita = {{plainlist|
* {{increase}} $4,610 (nominal; {{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper"/>
* {{increase}} $13,730 (PPP; {{abbr|2025|2025 forecast}})<ref name="IMF DataMapper"/> 
}}
| per capita rank = {{plainlist|
* [[List of countries by GDP per capita (nominal)|120th (nominal; 2025)]]
* [[List of countries by GDP per capita (PPP)|113th (PPP; 2025)]]
}}
| sectors = agriculture: 8.77%, industry: 33.8%, services: 53.15% (2019 est.)<ref name="Swaziland: Distribution of gross domestic product (GDP) across economic sectors from 2009 to 2019">{{cite web |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/575480/share-of-economic-sectors-in-the-gdp-in-swaziland/ |title=Swaziland: Distribution of gross domestic product (GDP) across economic sectors from 2009 to 2019 |publisher=[[Statista]] |website=statista.com |access-date=19 February 2021}}</ref>
| inflation = 6.1% (2011 est.)
| poverty = 69% (2006)
| labor = 457,900 (2007)
| occupations = agriculture: 70%
| unemployment = 40% (2006 est.)
| industries = Coal mining, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel
| exports = $2.049 billion f.o.b. (2011 est.)
| export-goods = soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
| export-partners = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|South Africa}} 59.7%
*{{flag|EU}} 8.8%
*{{flag|US}} 8.8%
*{{flag|Mozambique}} 6.2%
*(2004)}}
| imports = $2.076 billion f.o.b. (2011 est.)
| import-goods = motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
| import-partners = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|South Africa}} 95.6%
*{{flag|EU}} 0.9%
*{{flag|Japan}} 0.9%
*{{flag|Singapore}} 0.3%
*(2004)}}
| debt = $703.1 million (2011 est.)
| revenue = $1.006 billion (2011)
| expenses = $1.488 billion (2011)
| aid = ''recipient'': $104 million (2001)
| hdi = 611
}}
The '''economy of Eswatini''' is fairly [[Economic diversification|diversified]]. [[Agriculture]], [[forestry]] and [[mining]] account for about 13 percent of [[Eswatini]]'s [[GDP]], whereas [[manufacturing]] ([[textiles]] and sugar-related processing) represent 37 percent of GDP. Services, with government services in the lead, constitute the other 50 percent of GDP.

==Agriculture==
[[Title deed|Title Deed]] lands, where the bulk of high-value crops are grown (sugar, forestry, and citrus) are characterized by high levels of [[investment (macroeconomics)|investment]] and [[irrigation]], and high productivity. Nevertheless, the majority of the [[population]]&nbsp;– about 75 percent—is employed in [[subsistence economy|subsistence]] agriculture on [[Swazi Nation Land]], which, in contrast, suffers from low [[productivity]] and investment. This dual nature of the Swazi economy, with high productivity in textile manufacturing and in the industrialized agricultural title deed lands on the one hand, and declining productivity subsistence agriculture on Swazi Nation Land on the other, may well explain the country's overall low growth, high [[Economic inequality|inequality]] and [[unemployment]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Economic growth==
Economic growth in Eswatini has lagged behind that of its neighbors. Real GDP growth since 2001 has averaged 2.8 percent, nearly 2 percentage points lower than growth in other [[Southern African Customs Union]] (SACU) member countries. Low agricultural productivity in the Swazi nation lands, repeated [[droughts]], the effect of [[HIV/AIDS]], and an overly large{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=June 2015}} and [[inefficient]] government sector are likely contributing factors. Eswatini's public finances deteriorated in the late 1990s following sizeable{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=June 2015}} surpluses a decade earlier. A combination of declining revenues and increased spending led to significant{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=June 2015}} [[budget deficit]]s. The considerable{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=June 2015}} spending has not led to more economic growth and has not benefitted the poor to the same extent as regional comparators, although the poverty headcount has shifted slightly during the first decade of the 2000s (SHIES 2010). Much of the increased spending has gone to current expenditures related to wages, transfers, and subsidies. The wage bill today{{When|date=June 2015}} constitutes over 15 percent of GDP and 55 percent of total public spending; these are some of the highest levels on the African continent. The recent{{When|date=June 2015}} rapid growth in SACU revenues has, however, reversed the fiscal situation, and a sizeable{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=June 2015}} surplus was recorded in 2006/07 and 2012/13. SACU revenues today{{When|date=June 2015}} account for over 50 percent of total government revenues. On the positive side, the external debt burden has declined markedly{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=June 2015}} over the last 20 years,{{When|date=June 2015}} and domestic debt is almost negligible; external debt as a percent of GDP was less than 20 percent in 2006.

==Trade partners==
The Swazi economy is very closely linked to the [[economy of South Africa]], from which it receives over 90 percent of its imports and to which it sends about 70 percent of its exports. Eswatini has great resources making a good trading partner. Eswatini's other key trading partners are the United States and the EU, from whom the country has received trade preferences for apparel exports (under the [[African Growth and Opportunity Act]]&nbsp;– AGOA&nbsp;– to the US) and for sugar (to the EU). Under these agreements, both apparel and sugar exports did well, with rapid growth and a strong inflow of foreign direct investment. Textile exports grew by over 200 percent between 2000 and 2005 and sugar exports increasing by more than 50 percent over the same period. The continued vibrancy of the export sector is threatened by the removal of trade preferences for textiles, the accession to similar preferences for East Asian countries, and the phasing out of preferential prices for sugar to the EU market. Eswatini will thus have to face the challenge of remaining competitive in a changing global environment. A crucial factor in addressing this challenge is the investment climate. The recently concluded Investment Climate Assessment provides some positive findings in this regard, namely that Eswatini firms are among the most productive in Sub-Saharan Africa, although they are less productive than firms in the most productive middle-income countries in other regions. They compare more favorably with firms from lower middle income countries, but are hampered by inadequate governance arrangements and infrastructure.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form the [[Southern African Customs Union]] (SACU), where [[import duty|import duties]] apply uniformly to member countries. Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa also are members of the [[Common Monetary Area]] (CMA) in which [[repatriation]] and unrestricted funds are permitted. Eswatini issues its own currency, the [[Swazi lilangeni]] (plural: emalangeni), which is at par with the [[South African rand]].

==Infrastructure==
Eswatini enjoys well-developed road links with [[South Africa]]. [[Eswatini Railways]] operates its railroads that run east to west and north to south. The older east–west link, called the [[Goba]] line, makes it possible to export bulk goods from Eswatini through the Port of [[Maputo]] in [[Mozambique]]. Until recently, most of Eswatini's imports were shipped through this port. Conflict in Mozambique in the 1980s diverted many Swazi exports to ports in South Africa. A north–south rail link, completed in 1986, provides a connection between the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) rail network and the South African ports of [[Richards Bay]] and [[Durban]]. From the mid-1980s foreign investment in the manufacturing sector boosted economic growth rates significantly. Since mid-1985, the depreciated value of the currency has increased the competitiveness of Swazi exports and moderated the growth of imports, generating trade surpluses. During the 1990s, the country often ran small trade deficits.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}

==Sugar industry==
[[Eswatini]] is the fourth largest producer of sugar in [[Africa]] and is 25th in production in the world.<ref name="gain.fas.usda.gov">{{Cite web |url=https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filename=Sugar%20Annual_Pretoria_Swaziland_4-20-2015.pdf |title=Swaziland Sugar Annual Report 2014-2015 |access-date=2015-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021802/https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/Sugar%20Annual_Pretoria_Swaziland_4-20-2015.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-15 |url-status=live }}</ref> This demonstrates the immense focus of the industry in order to continue to grow their economy. Eswatini's [[GDP]] was $8.621 billion (US dollars) in 2014 based on purchasing power parity and of that 7.2% of that is from the agriculture sector and of that sector, [[sugarcane]] and sugar products have the largest impact on GDP.  According to the World [[CIA]] Factbook, wood pulp and sugarcane were the largest exports of Eswatini until the wood pulp producer closed in January 2010.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eswatini/#economy/| title = World CIA Factbook, "Eswatini: Economy"| date = 12 January 2022}}</ref> This left the sugarcane industry as the sole main export. The largest company that produces sugar in Eswatini is the [[Royal Eswatini Sugar Corporation]] (RES Corporation) and it produces a little under two-thirds of total sugar in the country and produces over 3,000 jobs for the people of Eswatini.  The RES Corporation is composed of two main sugar mill producers, Mhlume and Simunye, which produce a combined 430,000 tons of cane per season. The second largest sugarcane company is Ubombo Sugar Limited which has grown from producing 5,600 tons in 1958 to approximately 230,000 tons of sugar annually. The third largest sugarcane producer is the Tambankulu Estate (largest independent sugar estate) and it produces 62,000 tons of sugar annually on 3,816 hectares of land.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.mbendi.com/indy/agff/sugr/af/sw/p0005.htm#events |title = Mbendi Information Service, ["Sugarcane Farming in Swaziland" |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160518081744/https://www.mbendi.com/indy/agff/sugr/af/sw/p0005.htm#events |archive-date=18 May 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
The largest export partners of Eswatini and the larger [[Southern African Development Community]] (SADC) is the [[European Union]]. The SADC is a group of many southern African countries who have banded together in order to try to improve their individual socioeconomic status. In 2014-2015 the sugar production of Eswatini was 680,881 metric tons and of this about 355,000 metric tons of sugar was shipped to the European Union, larger than any other export partner. Another trade partner for Eswatini was the [[United States]] where they shipped 34,000 metric tons of sugar in the 2014-2015 year under the Tariff Rate Quota. These numbers are up from past years and continue to rise. The expected output based on the 2015-2016 post forecast predictions are that Eswatini will produce 705,000 metric tons, a new record for the country that can be attributed to an increase in land being available for sugar cultivation.  Of this predicted figure about 390,000 metric tons will go to the European Union as part of a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This new agreement between the EU and SADC means that members like Eswatini can sell their sugar on a duty-free and quota-free basis.<ref name="gain.fas.usda.gov"/>

The quotas that the EU and the United States fill is similar to the Sugar Protocol which began in 1975. The goal of the Sugar Protocol was for the EU to purchase and import specific quantities from countries in Africa, the [[Caribbean]] and the [[Pacific]]. These prices and quantities guaranteed production and were well above the world price, which translated into substantial profits for these mostly impoverished countries.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/barbados/eu_barbados/development_coop/sugar_protocol/index_en.htm| title = Delegation of the European Union: 'Sugar Protocol'}}</ref>   This agreement reached an end in 2009 because the EU could no longer support the pre-determined demands. The Sugar Protocol came to an immediate end and was replaced with separate Economic Partnerships with the varying countries and regions. Even though the demands will be just as high as under the Sugar Protocol, the prices will drop significantly.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2007/09/070928_sugarprotocol.shtml BBC Caribbean: 'Sugar Protocol Scrapped']</ref>  In the case of Eswatini, they have received good reassurance that their product will still be bought by the EU.<ref name="gain.fas.usda.gov"/>

==Mining==
{{main|Mining industry of Eswatini}}
Currently, Eswatini's mineral sector is governed under a policy drawn up prior to Eswatini's independence. In response to the sector's recent decline, a new mining policy is being drafted by consultants, paid for by a grant from China, and legislation to facilitate small-scale mining has also been proposed.<ref name=bendi>{{cite web |url = http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/af/sw/p0005.htm |title = Mbendi Information Services, "Mining in Swaziland - Overview", ''Mbendi Information Services'' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001208073600/http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/af/sw/p0005.htm |archive-date=8 December 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The country's main source of foreign exchange is the Bulembu asbestos mine, however production has hit a steep decline. Diamond, iron ore and gold have also been found in the past, however a lack of investment and development policy has seen the region's potential falter.<ref name=bendi />

Although fewer than 1,000 Swazis are directly employed in the mining sector, many workers from Eswatini processed timber from the country's extensive pine populations for mines in South Africa, and around 10,000–15,000 Swazis were employed in South African mines. Their contributions to Eswatini's economy through wage repatriation have been diminished, though, by the collapse of the international gold market and layoffs in South Africa.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Swaziland-MINING.html| title =Swaziland - Mining|work=Encyclopedia of the Nations}}</ref>

==Other economic statistics==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+Main economic indicators in 1980–2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2018/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=1980&ey=2023&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=734&s=NGDP_RPCH,PPPGDP,PPPPC,PCPIPCH,GGXWDG_NGDP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=29&pr.y=11|access-date=2018-09-11|language=en-US}}</ref>
!rowspan=2|Year
!colspan=2| GDP (PPP)
!rowspan=2|GDP (nominal)<br>(US$ billions)
!rowspan=2|GDP growth<br />(real)
!rowspan=2|Inflation<br />(%)
!rowspan=2|Government<br>debt<br />(% of GDP)
|-
!GDP<br>(US$ billions)
!GDP per capita<br>(US$)
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1980
| 0.90
| 1,653
|0.75
| −3.8 %
| 18.2%
| ...
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1985
| 1.50
| 2,359
|0.50
| 3.8%
| 20.5%
| ...
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1990
| 2.95
| 3,793
|1.24
| 8.9%
| 13.1%
| ...
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 1995
| 3.84
| 4,421
|1.93
| 4.0%
| 12.3%
| 12%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2000
| 4.83
| 5,033
|1.74
| 2.6%
| 12.2%
| 17%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2005
| 6.52
| 6,537
|3.18
| 5.5%
| 1.8%
| 13%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2006
| 7.06
| 7,000
|3.29
| 5.2%
| 5.2%
| 14%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2007
| 7.54
| 7,387
|3.47
| 3.9%
| 8.1%
| 15%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2008
| 7.90
| 7,658
|3.30
| 2.8%
| 12.7%
| 14%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2009
| 8.32
| 7,978
|3.60
| 4.5%
| 7.4%
| 10%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2010
| 8.72
| 8,268
|4.44
| 3.5%
| 4.5%
| 14%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2011
| 9.07
| 8,502
|4.83
| 2.0%
| 6.1%
| 14%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2012
| 9.56
| 8,853
|4.89
| 3.5%
| 8.9%
| 15%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2013
| 10.18
| 9,317
|4.60
| 3.5%
| 5.6%
| 15%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2014
| 10.74
| 9,712
|4.43
| 3.6%
| 5.7%
| 14%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2015
| 10.97
| 9,807
|4.06
| 1.0%
| 5.0%
| 18%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2016
| 11.11
| 9,814
|3.82
| 0.0%
| 8.0%
| 25%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;" | 2017
| 11.34
| 9,884
|4.41
| 0.2%
| 6.3%
| 29%
|}

'''Household income or consumption by percentage share:'''
<br />''lowest 10%:''
1.6%
<br />''highest 10%:''
40.7% (2001)

'''Industrial production growth rate:'''
1% (2001 est.)

'''Electricity&nbsp;– production:'''
470 GWh (2008), 420 GWh (1998)

'''Electricity&nbsp;– consumption:'''
1,207 GWh (2008), 962.9 GWh (2001), 1.078 GWh (1998)

'''Electricity&nbsp;– exports:'''
0 kWh (2009, 2001, 1998)

'''Electricity&nbsp;– imports:'''
768 GWh (2009), 639 GWh (2001), 687 GWh (1998)
<br />''note:''
imports about 60% of its electricity from South Africa (2009)

'''Currency:'''
1 lilangeni (E) = 100 cents

'''Exchange rates:'''
emalangeni (E) per US$1&nbsp;– 7.3 (2011), 7.32 (2010), 8.42 (2009), 7.75 (2008), 7.4 (2007), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997), 4.2706 (1996), 3.6266 (1995); note&nbsp;– the lilangeni is at par with the South African rand

==See also==
*[[Economy of Africa]]
*[[Eswatini]]
*[[United Nations Economic Commission for Africa]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/eswatini/overview#1 The World Bank in Eswatini – Overview]
*[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eswatini/ CIA World Factbook: Swaziland]
{{Eswatini topics}}
{{SACU}}
{{Africa in topic|Economy of}}
{{World Trade Organization}}
[[Category:Economy of Eswatini| ]]
[[Category:World Trade Organization member economies|Eswatini]]
[[Category:African Union member economies|Eswatini]]