Population:
1,467,152
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
Nationality:
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi
Ethnic groups:
African 97%, European 3%
Languages:
English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official)
Religions:
Christian 90% (Zionist - a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship - 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, other 30% - includes Anglican, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness), Muslim 2%, other 8% (includes Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, indigenous religionist, Jewish) (2015 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(frequent droughts and intermittent heavy rains and flooding), overuse of small plots, the overgrazing of cattle, and outdated agricultural practices reduce crop yields and further degrade the environment, exacerbating Eswatini's poverty and subsistence problems.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 – more than 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 Swaziland. Much of today’s migration, however, is not work-related but focuses on visits to family and friends, tourism, and shopping.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35.01% (male 259,646/female 253,976)
15-24 years: 22.12% (male 164,117/female 160,478)
25-54 years: 34.6% (male 264,262/female 243,362)
55-64 years: 4.3% (male 25,319/female 37,763)
65 years and over: 3.97% (male 22,113/female 36,116) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::ESWATINI
Population Pyramid
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 68.8
youth dependency ratio: 63.5
elderly dependency ratio: 5.2
potential support ratio: 19.1 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 21.7 years
male: 21.5 years
female: 21.9 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
Population growth rate:
1.08% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
Birth rate:
24 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
Death rate:
13.2 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
Population distribution:
because of its mountainous terrain, the population distribution is uneven throughout the country, concentrating primarily in valleys and plains
Urbanization:
urban population: 21.3% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 1.41% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
MBABANE (capital) 66,000 (2014)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.66 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
19.5 years
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2006/07 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
389 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
Infant mortality rate:
total: 48.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 44.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 52.1 years
male: 52.7 years
female: 51.5 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 220
Total fertility rate:
2.69 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
66.1% (2014)
Health expenditures:
9.3% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 34
Physicians density:
0.15 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
Hospital bed density:
2.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 93.6% of population
rural: 68.9% of population
total: 74.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 6.4% of population
rural: 31.1% of population
total: 25.9% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 63.1% of population
rural: 56% of population
total: 57.5% of population
unimproved:
urban: 36.9% of population
rural: 44% of population
total: 42.5% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
27.2% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
220,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
3,900 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
16.5% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 124
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
5.8% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 84
Education expenditures:
7.1% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 12
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.5%
male: 87.4%
female: 87.5% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
male: 12 years
female: 11 years (2013)