Population:
1,104,479
(July 2020 est.)
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
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
160
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
liSwati (singular), emaSwati (plural); note - former term, Swazi(s), still used among English speakers
adjective:
Swati; note - former term, Swazi, still used among English speakers
Ethnic groups:
predominantly Swazi; smaller populations of other African ethnic groups, including the Zulu, as well as people of European ancestry
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, 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(frequent droughts and intermittent heavy rains and flooding), overuse of small plots, the overgrazing of cattle, and outdated agricultural practices reduce crop yields and further degrade the environment, exacerbating Eswatini's poverty and subsistence problems.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 Eswatini. 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: 33.63%
(male 185,640/female 185,808)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 18.71%
(male 98,029/female 108,654)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 39.46%
(male 202,536/female 233,275)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.36%
(male 20,529/female 27,672)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.83%
(male 15,833/female 26,503)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Eswatini. 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
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 63.5
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.2
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 19.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 23.7 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 22.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 24.7 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
174
Population growth rate:
0.77%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
132
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
24.5 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
50
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
10.1 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
36
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-6.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
209
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Population distribution:
because of its mountainous terrain, the population distribution is uneven throughout the country, concentrating primarily in valleys and plains
Urbanization:
urban population: 24% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.46% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
68,000 MBABANE (capital)
(2018)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.74 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 89.8 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
437 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
25
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 42.8 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 47.3 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 38.2 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
32
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.6 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 56.5 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 60.7 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
220
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
2.52 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
71
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
66.1%
(2014)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 93.6% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 68.9% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 74.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 6.4% of population
rural: 31.1% of population
total: 25.9% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
7.7%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.08 physicians/1,000 population
(2016)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
2.1 beds/1,000 population
(2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 63.1% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 56% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 57.5% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 36.9% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 44% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 42.5% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
27.3%
(201 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
1
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
210,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
28
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
2,400
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
42
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
intermediate
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
16.5%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
124
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
5.8%
(2014)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
79
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
7.1% of GDP
(2014)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
13
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.5%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 87.4%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 87.5%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years
(2013)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 47.1%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 44.2%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 50.1%
(2016)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
5
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Eswatini on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Eswatini People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Eswatini People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20