Eswatini People - 2022
SOURCE: 2022 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
1,121,761 (2022 est.)
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, Church of Jesus Christ, 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(frequent droughts and intermittent heavy rains and flooding), overuse of small plots, the overgrazing of cattle, and outdated agricultural practices reduce crop yields and further degrade the environment, exacerbating Eswatini's poverty and subsistence problems.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)
15-24 years: 18.71% (male 98,029/female 108,654)
25-54 years: 39.46% (male 202,536/female 233,275)
55-64 years: 4.36% (male 20,529/female 27,672)
65 years and over: 3.83% (male 15,833/female 26,503) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 64
youth dependency ratio: 57.4
elderly dependency ratio: 6.5
potential support ratio: 15.3 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 23.7 years
male: 22.5 years
female: 24.7 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
0.75% (2022 est.)
Birth rate
23.35 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate
9.71 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-6.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Population distribution
because of its mountainous terrain, the population distribution is uneven throughout the country, concentrating primarily in valleys and plains as shown in this population distribution map
Urbanization
urban population: 24.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.42% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
68,000 MBABANE (capital) (2018)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.73 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
437 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 39.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 43.89 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 35.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 59.69 years
male: 57.62 years
female: 61.81 years (2022 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.44 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
66.1% (2014)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 97.5% of population
rural: 74.8% of population
total: 80.3% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population
rural: 25.2% of population
total: 19.7% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
6.8% of GDP (2019)
Physicians density
0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Hospital bed density
2.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 92.3% of population
rural: 83.9% of population
total: 85.9% of population
unimproved: urban: 7.7% of population
rural: 16.1% of population
total: 14.1% of population (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
27.9% (2021 est.)
Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
16.5% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 7.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 5.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 9.2% (2020 est.)
male: 16.5% (2020 est.)
female: 1.8% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
5.8% (2014)
Education expenditures
5% of GDP (2021 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.4%
male: 88.3%
female: 88.5% (2018)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 12 years (2013)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 47.1%
male: 44.2%
female: 50% (2016)
NOTE: The information regarding Eswatini on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Eswatini 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Eswatini 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 01 Dec 23, Copyright © 23 ITA all rights reserved.