Eswatini
Eswatini is a southernern African country of roughly 1.2M people, covering 17,364 km² with its capital at Mbabane. Its economy is worth about $5.0B in nominal terms, anchored by sugar, manufacturing, forestry.
- Population
- 1.2M
- Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects - Capital
- Mbabane
- GDP
- $5.0B
- Area
- 17,364 km²
- Currency
- Lilangeni
Map
Overview
Eswatini is a southernern African country of roughly 1.2M people, covering 17,364 km² with its capital at Mbabane. Its economy is worth about $5.0B in nominal terms, anchored by sugar, manufacturing, forestry.
Government
Eswatini operates as a absolute monarchy. Independence: 1968. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Mbabane.
Economy
Nominal GDP is approximately $5.0B, or around $4,068 per capita. The currency in circulation is the Lilangeni. Leading sectors are sugar, manufacturing, forestry.
Population
Eswatini has a projected population, 2026 of 1,228,980 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 71 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.
Cities
The largest urban centres are Manzini, Mbabane, Lobamba. Mbabane serves as the seat of government.
History
Modern Eswatini took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1968. Our History section covers each period in depth.
Languages
Widely used languages include siSwati, English. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.
Culture
Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Eswatini form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.
Education
Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.
Healthcare
Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Eswatini's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.
Business
Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Eswatini. See our Business section for sector reporting.
Investment
Investors typically look at sugar, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.
Tourism
Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.
Transportation
Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.
Infrastructure
Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Eswatini's growth outlook.
Statistics
Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.
Frequently asked questions
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