Countryguidebook 
Poland, Torun
SWAZILAND
COUNTRIES A-Z
Swaziland Economy
Country Name: Kingdom of Swaziland
Capital City: Mbabane
Population: 1,136,334
Population Growth: -0.23% (2006)
Currency: lilangeni (SZL)
Languages: English (official), siSwati (official)
Area: 17,363 sq km
Inflation Rate: 5.4% (2006 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 40% (2006)
Domain extension: .sz
ECONOMIC DETAILS OF SWAZILAND
ECONOMY OVERVIEW
In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.
In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.
GDP - purchasing power parity:
$5.936 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.2% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita:
$5,200 (2006 est.)
GDP - by sector (agriculture):
agriculture: 8.6%
GDP - by sector (industry):
industry: 49.7%
GDP - by sector (services):
services: 41.7% (2006 est.)
Export Partners:
South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006)
Import Partners:
South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006)
Export Commodities:
soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit
Import Commodities:
motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Exports Volume:
$2.201 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports Volume:
$2.274 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Labour Force:
300,000 (2006)
Unemployment Rate:
40% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line:
69% (2006)
Inflation Rate:
5.4% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
15.5% of GDP (2006 est.)
Public Debt:
Agriculture Products:
sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep
Industries:
coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel
Industrial Production Growth Rate:
3.7% (FY95/96)
Electricity - production:
156.3 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:
1.123 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports:
697 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2004)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption:
3,500 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Natural gas - exports:
Natural gas - imports:
Current Account Balance:
-$23.13 million (2006 est.)
Currency Code:
lilangeni (SZL)