| Economy - overview | A small, landlocked kingdom, Swaziland is bordered in the north, west and south by the Republic of South Africa and by Mozambique in the east. Swaziland depends on South Africa for 60% of its exports and for more than 90% of its imports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, effectively relinquishing Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. The government is dependent on customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) for 49% of revenue; income tax accounts for 27% and a valued added tax for 19% of revenues. Swaziland is a lower middle income country, but its income distribution is highly skewed, with an estimated 20% of the population controlling 80% of the nation’s wealth. As of 2017, more than one-quarter of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS; Swaziland has the world’s highest HIV prevalence rate. Subsistence agriculture employs approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector diversified in the 1980s and 1990s, but manufacturing has grown little in the last decade. Sugar and soft drink concentrate are the largest foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years. Coal, gold, diamond, and quarry stone mines are small scale, and the only iron ore mine closed in 2014. With an estimated 28% unemployment rate, Swaziland's need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and to attract foreign direct investment is acute. On 1 January 2015, Swaziland lost its eligibility for benefits under the US African Growth and Opportunity Act after failing to meet benchmarks relating to workers’ rights. The IMF forecasted that Swaziland’s economy will grow at a slower pace in 2017 because of a region-wide drought, which is likely to hurt Swaziland’s revenue from sugar exports and other agricultural products; tourism and transport sectors will also decline. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and floods are persistent problems. Swaziland’s revenue from SACU receipts also are projected to decline in 2017, making it harder for the government to maintain fiscal balance. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $11.34 billion (2017 est.) $11.31 billion (2016 est.) $11.31 billion (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $4.03 billion (2016 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (2017 est.) 0% (2016 est.) 1.1% (2015 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $9,900 (2017 est.) $10,000 (2016 est.) $10,100 (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 11.1% of GDP (2017 est.) 12.8% of GDP (2016 est.) 23% of GDP (2015 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 65.7% government consumption: 14.5% investment in fixed capital: 14.5% investment in inventories: -0.1% exports of goods and services: 34.9% imports of goods and services: -29.7% (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.5% industry: 45% services: 48.6% (2017 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 63% (2010 est.) |
| Labor force | 427,900 (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 10.7% industry: 30.4% services: 58.9% (2014 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 28% (2014 est.) 28% (2013 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7% highest 10%: 40.1% (2010 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 50.4 (2001) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.15 billion expenditures: $1.475 billion (2017 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 28.5% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -8.1% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Public debt | 27.5% of GDP (2016 est.) 18.6% of GDP (2015 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2017 est.) 8% (2016 est.) |
| Central bank discount rate | 7.25% (31 December 2016) 6.5% (31 December 2015) |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 11.7% (31 December 2017 est.) 10.3% (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $290.3 million (31 December 2017 est.) $316.6 million (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $973.5 million (31 December 2017 est.) $1.015 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | $983.6 million (31 December 2017 est.) $890.5 million (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | $NA $203.1 million (31 December 2007) $199.9 million (31 December 2006) |
| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, corn, cotton, citrus, pineapples, cattle, goats |
| Industries | soft drink concentrates, coal, forestry, sugar processing, textiles, and apparel |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.1% (2017 est.) |
| Current Account Balance | -$44 million (2017 est.) $26 million (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $1.631 billion (2017 est.) $1.577 billion (2016 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, timber, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus, and canned fruit |
| Exports - partners | South Africa 87.1%, Namibia 4% (2016) |
| Imports | $1.467 billion (2017 est.) $1.405 billion (2016 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | South Africa 60.3%, China 5.3%, Mozambique 5.1% (2016) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $576.6 million (31 December 2017 est.) $564.4 million (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Debt - external | $548.2 million (31 December 2017 est.) $468.9 million (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | $NA |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | $NA |
| Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 14.44 (2017 est.) 14.6924 (2016 est.) 14.6924 (2015 est.) 12.7581 (2014 est.) 10.8469 (2013 est.) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on January 20, 2018
