World Factbook
Eswatini
Umbuso weSwatini
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
91.1% (2022 est.)
female
90.4% (2022 est.)
total population
90.8% (2022 est.)
Languages
English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official)
Religions
Christian 90% (Zionist - a blend of Christianity and traditional African religions - 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, other Christian 30% - includes Anglican, Methodist, Church of Jesus Christ, Jehovah's Witness), Muslim 2%, other 8% (includes Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, indigenous, Jewish) (2015 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.87 male(s)/female
total population
0.9 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.59 male(s)/female
Birth rate
20.66 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
23.4 years
total
24.8 years (2025 est.)
female
25.8 years
Population
male
557,204
total
1,137,268 (2025 est.)
female
580,064
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
Tobacco use
male
16.1% (2025 est.)
total
8.5% (2025 est.)
female
1.2% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
24.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
2.42% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
31.6% (male 180,328/female 179,840)
15-64 years
64.3% (male 341,298/female 390,884)
65 years and over
4% (2024 est.) (male 16,974/female 28,765)
Ethnic groups
predominantly Swazi; smaller populations of other African ethnic groups, including the Zulu, as well as people of European ancestry
Child marriage
men married by age 18
0% (2022)
women married by age 15
0.1% (2022)
women married by age 18
1.9% (2022)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
52.2 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
44.7 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
13.3 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
7.5 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.56 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
7% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
11.3% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-3.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.64 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 65.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 73.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 34.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 26.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
6% of GDP (2024 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
19.2% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
40.7 deaths/1,000 live births
total
38 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
32.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.87% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.3 (2025 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
Life expectancy at birth
male
58.7 years
female
62.8 years
total population
60.7 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
118 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 84.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 86.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 92.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 15.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 13.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 7.6% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
2.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
7.68 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
5.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
68,000 MBABANE (capital) (2018)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
16.5% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
36.4% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
5% (2021 est.)