Swaziland Economy Profile 2008

Economy - overview

In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. In 2007, the sugar industry increased efficiency and diversification efforts, in response to a 17% decline in EU sugar prices. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union, which may equal as much as 70% of government revenue this year, and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland is not poor enough to merit an IMF program; however, the country is struggling to reduce the size of the civil service and control costs at public enterprises. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. With an estimated 40% unemployment rate, Swaziland's need to increase the number and size of small and medium enterprises and attract foreign direct investment is acute. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2006-07 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$5.424 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$2.674 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$4,800 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 11.8%
industry: 45.8%
services: 42.3% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line

69% (2006)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.7% (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

17.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

300,000 (2006)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Unemployment rate

40% (2006 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

50.4 (2001)

Budget

revenues: $1.216 billion
expenditures: $1.15 billion (2007 est.)

Industries

coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textiles and apparel

Industrial production growth rate

1% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production

460 million kWh (2007)

Electricity - consumption

1.2 billion kWh (2007)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2007)

Electricity - imports

872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2007)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

3,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports

3,530 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$26.71 million (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$2.169 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006)

Imports

$2.31 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals

Imports - partners

South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$394.9 million (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external

$538.6 million (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares

$196.8 million (2005)

Economic aid - recipient

$46.03 million (2005)

Currency (code)

lilangeni (SZL)

Exchange rates

lilangeni per US dollar - 7.4 (2007), 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March