Eswatini

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 12,000 (2020 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2020 est.)

Broadcast media

1 state-owned TV station; satellite dishes are able to access South African providers; state-owned radio network with 3 channels; 1 private radio station (2019)

Internet country code

.sz

Internet users

total: 708,000 (2021 est.) percent of population: 59% (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: Eswatini was one of the last countries in the world to open up its telecom market to competition; until 2011 the state-owned Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications also acted as the industry regulator and had a stake in the country s sole mobile network; a new independent regulatory authority was established in late 2013 and has since embarked on significant changes to the sector; mobile market subscriptions have been affected by the common use among subscribers when they use SIM cards from different networks in order to access cheaper on-net calls; subscriber growth has slowed in recent years, but was expected to have reached 8% in 2021, as people adapted to the changing needs for connectivity caused by the pandemic; the internet sector has been open to competition with a small number of licensed ISPs; DSL services were introduced in 2008, development of the sector has been hampered by the limited fixed-line infrastructure and by a lack of competition in the access and backbone networks; Eswatini is landlocked and so depends on neighboring countries for international bandwidth; this has meant that access pricing is relatively high, and market subscriptions remains relatively low; prices have fallen recently in line with greater bandwidth availability resulting from several new submarine cable systems which have reached the region in recent years; in September 2020 a terrestrial cable linked Mozambique with Eswatini and South Africa (2022) domestic: fixed-line stands at nearly 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 120 telephones per 100 persons (2021) international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 46,000 (2021 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 1.4 million (2021 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 120 (2021 est.)

Agricultural products

sugar cane, maize, roots/tubers nes, grapefruit, oranges, milk, beef, potatoes, vegetables, bananas

Budget

revenues: $1.131 billion (2020 est.) expenditures: $1.454 billion (2020 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-8.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Credit ratings

Moody's rating: B3 (2020) note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

Current account balance

$124.463 million (2021 est.) $270.942 million (2020 est.) $176.144 million (2019 est.)

Debt - external

$535 million (2019 est.) $456 million (2018 est.)

Economic overview

landlocked southern African economy; South African trade dependent and currency pegging; CMA and SACU member state; COVID-19 economic slowdown; growing utilities inflation; persistent poverty and unemployment; HIV/AIDS labor force disruptions

Exchange rates

emalangeni per US dollar - 14.783 (2021 est.) 16.47 (2020 est.) 14.452 (2019 est.) 13.234 (2018 est.) 13.324 (2017 est.)

Exports

$2.132 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $1.808 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $2.048 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports - commodities

carbonated drink mixtures, sugar, gold, industrial additives, clothing, lumber (2021)

Exports - partners

South Africa 94% (2017)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP (official exchange rate)

$4.484 billion (2019 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 64% (2017 est.) government consumption: 21.3% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 13.4% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: -0.1% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 47.9% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -46.3% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 6.5% (2017 est.) industry: 45% (2017 est.) services: 48.6% (2017 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

54.6 (2016 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 40.1% (2010 est.)

Imports

$2.173 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $1.686 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $1.924 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - commodities

motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals

Imports - partners

South Africa 81.6%, China 5.2% (2017)

Industrial production growth rate

15.38% (2021 est.)

Industries

soft drink concentrates, coal, forestry, sugar processing, textiles, and apparel

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.6% (2019 est.) 4.82% (2018 est.) 6.22% (2017 est.)

Labor force

383,500 (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

58.9% (2016 est.)

Public debt

28.4% of GDP (2017 est.) 25.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$10.56 billion (2021 est.) $9.788 billion (2020 est.) $9.943 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

7.88% (2021 est.) -1.56% (2020 est.) 2.7% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$8,900 (2021 est.) $8,300 (2020 est.) $8,500 (2019 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$572,281,500 (31 December 2021 est.) $545,564,200 (31 December 2020 est.) $440,314,200 (31 December 2019 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

28.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate

25.76% (2021 est.) 25.51% (2020 est.) 22.84% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 50.9% (2021 est.) male: 47.7% female: 54.1%

Carbon dioxide emissions

1.224 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) from coal and metallurgical coke: 350,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) from petroleum and other liquids: 875,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Coal

production: 108,000 metric tons (2020 est.) consumption: 169,000 metric tons (2020 est.) exports: 163,000 metric tons (2020 est.) imports: 135,000 metric tons (2020 est.) proven reserves: 144 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Electricity

installed generating capacity: 286,000 kW (2020 est.) consumption: 1,448,308,000 kWh (2019 est.) exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.) imports: 942 million kWh (2019 est.) transmission/distribution losses: 154.7 million kWh (2019 est.)

Electricity access

population without electricity: (2020) less than 1 million electrification - total population: 82.9% (2021) electrification - urban areas: 94.5% (2021) electrification - rural areas: 79.1% (2021)

Electricity generation sources

fossil fuels: 44.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) solar: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) hydroelectricity: 24.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) biomass and waste: 31% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Energy consumption per capita

19.371 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

Natural gas

production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Petroleum

total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.) refined petroleum consumption: 6,000 bbl/day (2019 est.) crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.) crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.) crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Refined petroleum products - exports

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - imports

5,279 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Refined petroleum products - production

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 15.07 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.) carbon dioxide emissions: 1.16 megatons (2016 est.) methane emissions: 1.9 megatons (2020 est.)

Climate

varies from tropical to near temperate

Environment - current issues

limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; population growth, deforestation, and overgrazing lead to soil erosion and soil degradation

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity: due to higher staple food prices - the latest analysis indicates that nearly 259,000 people faced acute food insecurity between January and March 2023, an improvement compared to the previous year; food insecurity in 2022-23 is driven by high food prices and a slowdown in economic growth, curbing households income earning opportunities (2023)

Land use

agricultural land: 68.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 9.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 57.7% (2018 est.) forest: 31.7% (2018 est.) other: 0% (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

2.25% of GDP (2018 est.)

Total renewable water resources

4.51 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 40 million cubic meters (2020 est.) industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.) agricultural: 1.01 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 24.8% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 2.42% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 218,199 tons (2016 est.)

Area

total: 17,364 sq km land: 17,204 sq km water: 160 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than New Jersey

Climate

varies from tropical to near temperate

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation

highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m mean elevation: 305 m

Geographic coordinates

26 30 S, 31 30 E

Geography - note

landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa

Irrigated land

500 sq km (2012)

Land boundaries

total: 546 km border countries (2): Mozambique 108 km; South Africa 438 km

Land use

agricultural land: 68.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 9.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 57.7% (2018 est.) forest: 31.7% (2018 est.) other: 0% (2018 est.)

Location

Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

drought

Natural resources

asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc

Population distribution

because of its mountainous terrain, the population distribution is uneven throughout the country, concentrating primarily in valleys and plains as shown in this population distribution map

Terrain

mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains

Administrative divisions

4 regions; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni

Capital

name: Mbabane (administrative capital); Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) geographic coordinates: 26 19 S, 31 08 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: named after a Swati chief, Mbabane KUNENE, who lived in the area at the onset of British settlement

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: both parents must be citizens of Eswatini dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Constitution

history: previous 1968, 1978; latest signed by the king 26 July 2005, effective 8 February 2006 amendments: proposed at a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament; passage requires majority vote by both houses and/or majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king; passage of amendments affecting "specially entrenched" constitutional provisions requires at least three-fourths majority vote by both houses, passage by simple majority vote in a referendum, and assent of the king; passage of "entrenched" provisions requires at least two-thirds majority vote of both houses, passage in a referendum, and assent of the king

Country name

conventional long form: Kingdom of Eswatini conventional short form: Eswatini local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini former: Swaziland etymology: the country name derives from 19th century King MSWATI II, under whose rule Swati territory was expanded and unified note: pronounced ay-swatini or eh-swatini

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) Charges d'Affaires Caitlin PIPER (since 27 October 2023) embassy: Corner of MR 103 and Cultural Center Drive, Ezulwini, P.O. Box D202, The Gables, H106 mailing address: 2350 Mbabane Place, Washington DC 20521-2350 telephone: (268) 2417-9000 FAX: [268] 2416-3344 email address and website: MBACONSULAR@state.gov https://sz.usembassy.gov/

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Kennedy Fitzgerald GROENING (7 June 2022) chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 email address and website: embassy@eswatini-usa.com; swaziland@compuserve.com

Executive branch

chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986) head of government: Prime Minister Russell Mmiso DLAMINI (since 3 November 2023) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister, confirmed by the monarch; at least one-half of the cabinet membership must be appointed from among elected members of the House of Assembly elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among members of the House of Assembly

Flag description

three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally; blue stands for peace and stability, red represents past struggles, and yellow the mineral resources of the country; the shield, spears, and staff symbolize protection from the country's enemies, while the black and white of the shield are meant to portray black and white people living in peaceful coexistence

Government type

absolute monarchy

Independence

6 September 1968 (from the UK)

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt

International organization participation

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and at least 4 justices) and the High Court (consists of the chief justice - ex officio - and 4 justices); note - the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in all constitutional matters judge selection and term of office: justices of the Supreme Court and High Court appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a judicial advisory body consisting of the Supreme Court Chief Justice, 4 members appointed by the monarch, and the chairman of the Civil Service Commission; justices of both courts eligible for retirement at age 65 with mandatory retirement at age 75 subordinate courts: magistrates' courts; National Swazi Courts for administering customary/traditional laws (jurisdiction restricted to customary law for Swazi citizens)

Legal system

mixed legal system of civil, common, and customary law

Legislative branch

description: bicameral Parliament (Libandla) consists of: Senate (30 seats; 20 members appointed by the monarch and 10 indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the House of Assembly; members serve 5-year terms) House of Assembly (70 seats statutory, current 69; 59 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies or tinkhundla by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed, 10 members appointed by the monarch, 4 women, one each representing each region, elected by the members if representation of elected women is less than 30%, and 1 ex-officio member - the attorney general; members serve 5-year terms) elections: Senate - last election held on 12 October 2023 , senate fully constituted on November 5 when monarch appointed remaining 20 senators; (next to be held in 2028) House of Assembly - last held on 29 September 2023 (next to be held in 2028) election results: Senate - percent of seats by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 17, women 13, percent of women 43% House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 59; composition - men 58, women 12, percent of women 17.14%; note - total Parliament percent of women 4.1%

National anthem

name: "Nkulunkulu Mnikati wetibusiso temaSwati" (Oh God, Bestower of the Blessings of the Swazi) lyrics/music: Andrease Enoke Fanyana SIMELANE/David Kenneth RYCROFT note: adopted 1968; uses elements of both ethnic Swazi and Western music styles

National holiday

Independence Day (Somhlolo Day), 6 September (1968)

National symbol(s)

lion, elephant; national colors: blue, yellow, red

Political parties and leaders

political parties exist but conditions for their operations, particularly in elections, are undefined, legally unclear, or culturally restricted; the following are considered political associations: African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley S. MALINDZISA] Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Sibongile MAZIBUKO] People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mlungisi MAKHANYA] Swazi Democratic Party or SWADEPA [Jan SITHOLE]

Suffrage

18 years of age

Background

A Swazi kingdom was founded in the mid-18 th century and ruled by a series of kings including MSWATI II, a 19 th century ruler whose appellation was adopted to become the name of the country and its predominant ethnic group. The kingdom s modern borders were defined by European countries during the late-19 th century and Swaziland (as it became known) was administered as a UK high commission territory from 1903 until its independence in 1968. A new constitution came into effect in 2005, which included provisions for a more independent parliament and judiciary, but the legal status of political parties remains unclear, and the kingdom is still considered an absolute monarchy. King MSWATI III renamed the country from Swaziland to Eswatini in 2018 to reflect the name most commonly used by its citizens. In 2021, MSWATI III used security forces to suppress prodemocracy protests. A national dialogue and reconciliation process agreed to in the wake of violence has not materialized. In November 2023, King MSWATI III appointed a new Prime Minister following peaceful national elections. Despite its classification as a lower-middle income country, Eswatini suffers from severe poverty, corruption, and high unemployment. Eswatini has the world's highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, although recent years have shown marked declines in new infections. Eswatini is the only country in Africa that recognizes Taiwan.

Military - note

the UEDF s primary mission is external security but it also has domestic security responsibilities, including protecting members of the royal family; the king is the UEDF commander in chief and holds the position of minister of defense, although the UEDF reports to the Army commander and principal undersecretary of defense for day-to-day operations; the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) is responsible for maintaining internal security as well as migration and border crossing enforcement; it is under the prime minister, although the king is the force s titular commissioner in chief; the UEDF was originally created in 1973 as the Royal Swaziland Defense Force (2023)

Military and security forces

Umbutfo Eswatini Defense Force (UEDF): Army (includes a small air wing); the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) (2023)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 3,000 active duty personnel (2022)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the UEDF is lightly armed with mostly older equipment from Europe, South Africa, and the US (2023)

Military expenditures

1.7% of GDP (2021 est.) 1.8% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.9% of GDP (2019 est.) 2.1% of GDP (2018 est.) 2.1% of GDP (2017 est.)

Military service age and obligation

18-30 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (2021)

Age structure

0-14 years: 32.16% (male 181,886/female 181,491) 15-64 years: 63.88% (male 336,243/female 385,599) 65 years and over: 3.97% (2023 est.) (male 16,654/female 28,170)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 7.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) beer: 2.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) wine: 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) other alcohols: 5.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Birth rate

22.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

5.8% (2014)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

66.1% (2014)

Current health expenditure

6.5% of GDP (2020)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

37.1% (2023 est.)

Death rate

9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Demographic profile

Eswatini, a small, predominantly rural, landlocked country surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique, suffers from severe poverty and the world s highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. A weak and deteriorating economy, high unemployment, rapid population growth, and an uneven distribution of resources all combine to worsen already persistent poverty and food insecurity, especially in rural areas. Erratic weather (frequent droughts and intermittent heavy rains and flooding), overuse of small plots, the overgrazing of cattle, and outdated agricultural practices reduce crop yields and further degrade the environment, exacerbating Eswatini's poverty and subsistence problems. Eswatini's extremely high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate nearly 28% of adults have the disease compounds these issues. Agricultural production has declined due to HIV/AIDS, as the illness causes households to lose manpower and to sell livestock and other assets to pay for medicine and funerals. Swazis, mainly men from the country s rural south, have been migrating to South Africa to work in coal, and later gold, mines since the late 19th century. Although the number of miners abroad has never been high in absolute terms because of Eswatini's small population, the outflow has had important social and economic repercussions. The peak of mining employment in South Africa occurred during the 1980s. Cross-border movement has accelerated since the 1990s, as increasing unemployment has pushed more Swazis to look for work in South Africa (creating a "brain drain" in the health and educational sectors); southern Swazi men have continued to pursue mining, although the industry has downsized. Women now make up an increasing share of migrants and dominate cross-border trading in handicrafts, using the proceeds to purchase goods back in Eswatini. Much of today s migration, however, is not work-related but focuses on visits to family and friends, tourism, and shopping.

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 64 youth dependency ratio: 57.4 elderly dependency ratio: 6.5 potential support ratio: 15.3 (2021 est.)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 97.5% of population rural: 74.8% of population total: 80.3% of population unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population rural: 25.2% of population total: 19.7% of population (2020 est.)

Education expenditures

5% of GDP (2021 est.)

Ethnic groups

predominantly Swazi; smaller populations of other African ethnic groups, including the Zulu, as well as people of European ancestry

Gross reproduction rate

1.19 (2023 est.)

Hospital bed density

2.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)

Infant mortality rate

total: 38.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.) male: 42.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 33.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Languages

English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 60.2 years (2023 est.) male: 58.2 years female: 62.3 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.4% male: 88.3% female: 88.5% (2018)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2023) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

Major urban areas - population

68,000 MBABANE (capital) (2018)

Maternal mortality ratio

437 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Median age

total: 24.4 years (2023 est.) male: 23.1 years female: 25.5 years

Nationality

noun: liSwati (singular), emaSwati (plural); note - former term, Swazi(s), still used among English speakers adjective: Swati; note - former term, Swazi, still used among English speakers

Net migration rate

-6.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

16.5% (2016)

Physicians density

0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Population

1,130,043 (2023 est.)

Population distribution

because of its mountainous terrain, the population distribution is uneven throughout the country, concentrating primarily in valleys and plains as shown in this population distribution map

Population growth rate

0.72% (2023 est.)

Religions

Christian 90% (Zionist - a blend of Christianity and traditional African religions - 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, other Christian 30% - includes Anglican, Methodist, Church of Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Witness), Muslim 2%, other 8% (includes Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, indigenous, Jewish) (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 92.3% of population rural: 83.9% of population total: 85.9% of population unimproved: urban: 7.7% of population rural: 16.1% of population total: 14.1% of population (2020 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 13 years male: 13 years female: 12 years (2013)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 9.2% (2020 est.) male: 16.5% (2020 est.) female: 1.8% (2020 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.41 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 24.8% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 2.42% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Disputes - international

Eswatini has stable relations with South Africa but claims large sections of South African territory based on the historic extent of Swazi control during the early 19th century; despite periodic negotiations, there has been little progress in resolving the dispute

Trafficking in persons

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List Eswatini does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; Eswatini established multi-agency emergency response teams to respond to trafficking victim identification; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous year, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; the lack of government coordination and leadership of the Prevention of People Trafficking and Smuggling Secretariat continued to hinder efforts; the government did not allocate funding for the Prevention of People Trafficking and People Smuggling Task Force to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts; the lack of specialized training for front-line officers continued to hamper efforts; serious allegations of trafficking and victim abuse by senior government officials have remained pending for multiple years; the first shelter for victims refurbished in collaboration with foreign donor support remained inoperative for the second consecutive year; therefore, Eswatini remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2023) trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Eswatini, and traffickers exploit victims from Eswatini abroad; traffickers target vulnerable communities, particularly those with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates; Swati girls, particularly orphans, are exploited in sex trafficking and domestic servitude, primarily in Eswatini and South Africa; some Swati girls in forced domestic work are physically and sexually abused by their employers, and sex traffickers exploit orphaned girls in exchange for food and money; Swati boys and foreign children are forced into labor in agriculture, cattle herding, and market vending within Eswatini; some Mozambican boys who migrate to Eswatini for work are exploited by traffickers in forced labor; Cuban nationals on medical missions in Eswatini may have been forced to work by the Cuban government; traffickers use Eswatini as a transit country to move foreign victims, primarily Mozambicans, to South Africa for forced labor; some Mozambican women reportedly are forced into commercial sex in Eswatini or transported to South Africa; some Swati people, including orphaned girls and girls from poor families who voluntarily migrate in search of work particularly in South Africa are exploited in sex trafficking; Swati men recruited in border communities are exploited in forced labor in South Africa s timber industry (2023)

Airports

14 (2021)

Airports - with paved runways

2 note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the typical length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

12 note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

3DC

Railways

total: 301 km (2014) narrow gauge: 301 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge

Roadways

total: 3,769 km (2019)