Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower middle income
Eswatini: the economy in numbers
Per person: $4,108, or $12,529 at purchasing power parity. Population: 1.26 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #166 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +3.7%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $382 million in 1960, $5.16 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $1,107 per person in 1960, $4,108 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 2.5% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1971: 2 of 55.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 3.31 times from 2000 to 2019. Highest annual inflation: 20.8% in 1977.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1993: 44.8% of GDP in 2025. IMF forecast for 2031: 48.0%.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Stock market capitalization, % of GDP
In 2007 listed domestic companies were worth $234 million, or 6.9% of GDP.
Population
1960: 345,337 · 2025: 1.26 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 20.5% · 2025: 34.2%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 46.4 years · 2024: 64.3 years.
Exports of goods and services
2013: 41.8% · 2024: 53.8%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Stock market, % GDP | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 3.3%f | 3.0%f | 48.0%f | ||||||||
| 2030 | 3.3%f | 3.0%f | 51.3%f | ||||||||
| 2029 | 3.3%f | 3.0%f | 53.7%f | ||||||||
| 2028 | 3.4%f | 3.0%f | 54.3%f | ||||||||
| 2027 | 3.4%f | 3.2%f | 54.4%f | ||||||||
| 2026 | 3.7%f | 2.9%f | 52.5%f | ||||||||
| 2025 | $5.16B | $4,108 | $12,529 | 4.2% | 3.1% | 44.8% | 1.26M | 34.2% | |||
| 2024 | $4.86B | $3,910 | $11,823 | 3.0% | 4.0% | 40.0% | 1.24M | 34.6% | 64.3 | 53.8% | |
| 2023 | $4.62B | $3,756 | $11,309 | 3.5% | 4.9% | 39.4% | 1.23M | 34.6% | 64.1 | 48.5% | |
| 2022 | $4.75B | $3,894 | $10,634 | 0.4% | 4.8% | 39.5% | 1.22M | 36.5% | 63.0 | 44.5% | |
| 2021 | $4.81B | $3,984 | $9,990 | 4.2% | 3.7% | 37.3% | 1.21M | 34.2% | 58.2 | 44.6% | |
| 2020 | $4.13B | $3,467 | $9,329 | −3.0% | 3.9% | 37.7% | 1.19M | 33.0% | 59.9 | 43.6% | |
| 2019 | $4.62B | $3,913 | $9,248 | 6.4% | 2.6% | 30.5% | 1.18M | 28.2% | 59.9 | 44.8% | |
| 2018 | $4.64B | $3,973 | $8,535 | 0.1% | 4.8% | 26.5% | 1.17M | 26.5% | 58.7 | 40.9% | |
| 2017 | $4.46B | $3,853 | $8,584 | 3.5% | 6.2% | 21.7% | 1.16M | 24.5% | 57.6 | 43.2% | |
| 2016 | $3.72B | $3,238 | $8,484 | 2.9% | 7.8% | 20.1% | 1.15M | 22.7% | 56.2 | 45.3% | |
| 2015 | $3.91B | $3,420 | $8,391 | 1.7% | 5.0% | 16.0% | 1.14M | 23.4% | 54.9 | 44.9% | |
| 2014 | $4.29B | $3,771 | $8,366 | 2.1% | 5.7% | 14.1% | 1.14M | 23.9% | 53.5 | 45.3% | |
| 2013 | $4.46B | $3,950 | $8,231 | 4.1% | 5.6% | 15.2% | 1.13M | 24.6% | 52.1 | 41.8% | |
| 2012 | $4.75B | $4,225 | $7,760 | 4.1% | 8.9% | 14.8% | 1.12M | 25.2% | 50.7 | ||
| 2011 | $4.72B | $4,225 | $7,571 | 1.8% | 6.1% | 14.6% | 1.12M | 26.1% | 49.1 | ||
| 2010 | $4.36B | $3,923 | $7,324 | 3.8% | 4.5% | 14.2% | 1.11M | 26.9% | 48.3 | ||
| 2009 | $3.53B | $3,190 | $7,011 | 1.4% | 7.4% | 10.6% | 1.11M | 27.5% | 46.9 | ||
| 2008 | $3.24B | $2,947 | $6,914 | 1.4% | 12.7% | 14.6% | 1.1M | 27.9% | 45.9 | ||
| 2007 | $3.39B | $3,109 | $6,732 | 4.3% | 8.1% | 16.1% | 1.09M | 28.2% | 6.9% | 45.2 | |
| 2006 | $3.22B | $2,965 | $6,319 | 6.7% | 5.3% | 14.7% | 1.08M | 27.7% | 6.1% | 44.6 | |
| 2005 | $3.1B | $2,871 | $5,773 | 6.0% | 4.8% | 13.6% | 1.08M | 27.2% | 6.3% | 44.0 | |
| 2004 | $2.71B | $2,526 | $5,310 | 3.6% | 3.4% | 15.0% | 1.07M | 26.7% | 8.2% | 43.9 | |
| 2003 | $2.15B | $2,015 | $5,020 | 4.5% | 7.3% | 17.7% | 1.07M | 26.3% | 8.0% | 44.6 | |
| 2002 | $1.39B | $1,316 | $4,742 | 4.1% | 12.0% | 17.2% | 1.06M | 25.8% | 10.6% | 45.4 | |
| 2001 | $1.5B | $1,430 | $4,521 | 1.4% | 5.9% | 21.7% | 1.05M | 25.2% | 8.5% | 46.3 | |
| 2000 | $1.7B | $1,630 | $4,401 | 1.8% | 12.2% | 18.2% | 1.04M | 24.5% | 4.3% | 47.6 | |
| 1999 | $1.55B | $1,502 | $4,272 | 3.0% | 6.1% | 16.7% | 1.03M | 23.9% | 6.1% | 48.8 | |
| 1998 | $1.58B | $1,547 | $4,137 | 2.6% | 8.1% | 15.6% | 1.02M | 23.2% | 5.4% | 50.1 | |
| 1997 | $1.72B | $1,705 | $4,038 | 3.1% | 7.1% | 12.7% | 1.01M | 22.5% | 7.5% | 51.7 | |
| 1996 | $1.6B | $1,619 | $3,916 | 3.8% | 6.4% | 11.5% | 990K | 22.1% | 29.4% | 53.3 | |
| 1995 | $1.7B | $1,751 | $3,777 | 4.8% | 12.3% | 12.5% | 970K | 21.6% | 19.9% | 55.1 | |
| 1994 | $1.42B | $1,461 | $3,526 | 2.4% | 13.8% | 13.1% | 971K | 21.7% | 23.9% | 56.6 | |
| 1993 | $1.36B | $1,397 | $3,371 | 3.1% | 12.0% | 15.0% | 971K | 21.8% | 58.1 | ||
| 1992 | $1.28B | $1,362 | $3,289 | 3.2% | 7.6% | 943K | 20.9% | 59.3 | |||
| 1991 | $1.16B | $1,273 | $3,236 | 1.8% | 8.9% | 908K | 20.5% | 60.4 | |||
| 1990 | $1.11B | $1,278 | $3,202 | 21.0% | 13.1% | 872K | 61.2 | ||||
| 1989 | $697M | $832 | 12.9% | 7.5% | 838K | 61.7 | |||||
| 1988 | $692M | $865 | 6.6% | 20.4% | 800K | 61.9 | |||||
| 1987 | $584M | $765 | 14.6% | 13.4% | 764K | 61.9 | |||||
| 1986 | $449M | $611 | 12.3% | 13.7% | 735K | 61.6 | |||||
| 1985 | $360M | $510 | 3.8% | 20.5% | 706K | 61.2 | |||||
| 1984 | $494M | $726 | 6.2% | 12.9% | 681K | 60.4 | |||||
| 1983 | $555M | $843 | 1.2% | 11.6% | 659K | 58.4 | |||||
| 1982 | $538M | $843 | 1.2% | 10.8% | 638K | 59.5 | |||||
| 1981 | $571M | $925 | 14.6% | 20.1% | 617K | 58.8 | |||||
| 1980 | $542M | $908 | 12.4% | 18.7% | 597K | 58.2 | |||||
| 1979 | $412M | $714 | 3.1% | 16.5% | 577K | 57.5 | |||||
| 1978 | $341M | $610 | 1.3% | 8.5% | 558K | 56.8 | |||||
| 1977 | $304M | $563 | 1.0% | 20.8% | 540K | 56.0 | |||||
| 1976 | $273M | $521 | −2.1% | 6.5% | 523K | 55.2 | |||||
| 1975 | $288M | $568 | 13.9% | 12.0% | 508K | 54.4 | |||||
| 1974 | $264M | $536 | 5.7% | 19.3% | 493K | 53.7 | |||||
| 1973 | $222M | $463 | 9.0% | 11.5% | 479K | 53.0 | |||||
| 1972 | $147M | $315 | 5.4% | 2.4% | 466K | 52.4 | |||||
| 1971 | $136M | $301 | 13.7% | 2.3% | 453K | 51.8 | |||||
| 1970 | $112M | $254 | 1.8% | 441K | 51.2 | ||||||
| 1969 | $105M | $245 | 3.2% | 430K | 50.6 | ||||||
| 1968 | $79.8M | $190 | 3.4% | 419K | 50.1 | ||||||
| 1967 | $74.8M | $183 | 1.8% | 409K | 49.5 | ||||||
| 1966 | $76.9M | $193 | 3.2% | 399K | 49.0 | ||||||
| 1965 | $70.3M | $181 | 388K | 48.4 | |||||||
| 1964 | $65M | $172 | 379K | 47.9 | |||||||
| 1963 | $54.1M | $146 | 370K | 47.5 | |||||||
| 1962 | $45.9M | $127 | 361K | 47.1 | |||||||
| 1961 | $43M | $122 | 353K | 46.8 | |||||||
| 1960 | $35.1M | $102 | 345K | 46.4 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 2020–2025, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
- Fiscal year: the IMF reports this economy by fiscal year (latest actual: FY2025/26), so IMF numbers can differ from calendar-year World Bank figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)