ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Eswatini

Sub-Saharan Africa. Lower middle income. Capital: Mbabane. Population 1,256,174 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
5,794 8,201 10,607 1995 2025 10,707
GDP growth (%)
−2.8 1.9 6.5 1995 2025 4.2
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
2.8 7.6 12.5 1995 2019 2.6
Life expectancy at birth (years)
44.3 54.1 63.9 1995 2024 64.3

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 10,707 2025 +1,011 +1,520 132 of 199
GDP growth% 4.2% 2025 +7.1 pp +2.5 pp 75 of 209
GDP per person growth% 3.1% 2025 +7.1 pp +2.0 pp 80 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 3,730 2025 +300 +190 144 of 201
Trade% of GDP 107.5% 2024 +20.8 pp +15.9 pp 51 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 1.0% 2025 +0.1 pp +0.2 pp 143 of 195
Central government debt% of GDP 35.7% 2021 +15.2 pp +23.0 pp 39 of 48

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 2.6% 2019 * −3.1 pp −4.9 pp –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 34.2% 2025 +1.2 pp +10.8 pp 1 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 1,256,174 2025 +63,445 +113,361 158 of 217
Population growth% annual 1.1% 2025 0.0 pp +0.5 pp 97 of 217
Urban population% of total 26.7% 2025 +2.1 pp +3.5 pp 201 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 64.3 2024 +4.4 +10.8 192 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 42.2 2024 −5.4 −14.3 24 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 7.5% 2023 +0.2 pp 0.0 pp 75 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 90.8% 2022 – – 42 of 86
Government spending on education% of GDP 6.0% 2024 +0.3 pp −1.3 pp 23 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 63.4% 2024 +19.5 pp +38.4 pp 135 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 89.3% 2024 +12.3 pp +24.3 pp 162 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 54.6 2016 * +3.2 – –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 44.5% 2016 * −13.7 pp – –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 64.7% 2022 −0.6 pp −4.1 pp 32 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 9,811 +2.4 6,095 3,781 372 +1.5% 22% 21%
GDP growth 2.3% +0.7 4.3% 4.6% 2.6 – – –
GDP per person growth 1.4% +0.7 2.7% 2.5% 2.6 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 3,513 +1.3 2,750 1,355 163 +0.5% 10% 13%
Trade 89.5% +4.0 69.0% 59.9% 4.5 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 1.1% 0.0 1.9% 2.0% 1.3 – – –
Central government debt 21.6% +1.6 45.1% 58.1% 8.7 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 6.2% −2.5 – – 1.4 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 29.8% +0.8 5.1% 5.4% 5.3 – – –
Population 1,189,088 +1.9 12,348,573 14,957,094 34,906 +1.0% 43% 44%
Population growth 0.9% +0.9 1.7% 2.3% 0.2 – – –
Urban population 24.6% +2.1 50.9% 44.9% 1.0 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 58.6 +1.7 67.9 64.3 3.3 – – –
Infant mortality 49.2 −1.8 28.7 37.2 3.9 – – –
Health spending 7.3% +0.5 4.5% 4.4% 0.4 – – –
Government spending on education 5.7% +0.5 4.0% 3.3% 0.6 – – –
Internet users 42.0% +1.6 57.9% 36.8% 13.3 – – –
Access to electricity 74.9% +1.7 88.7% 57.8% 8.4 – – –
Renewable energy 66.1% −0.7 42.5% 70.6% 1.9 – – –

Compare Eswatini with other countries