Economy - overview In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines 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. Prospects for 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative.

GDP purchasing power parity - $4.6 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 2.5% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 10%
industry: 43%
services: 47% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 7.5% (2001 est.)

Labor force NA

Labor force - by occupation NA

Unemployment rate 34% (2000 est.)

Budget
revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02)

Industries mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel

Industrial production growth rate 3.7% (FY95/96)

Electricity - production 362 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 55.8%
other: 0% (2000)
hydro: 44.2%
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 900.66 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 564 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (2000)

Agriculture - products sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep

Exports $702 million (f.o.b., 2001)

Exports - commodities soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit

Exports - partners South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999)

Imports $850 million (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports - commodities motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals

Imports - partners South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000)

Debt - external $336 million (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient $104 million (2001)

Currency lilangeni (SZL)

Currency code SZL

Exchange rates emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Swaziland on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Swaziland Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Swaziland Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.