| Economy | Swaziland |
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Economy - overview:
|
Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland depends heavily on South Africa from which it receives more than 90% of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, effectively subsuming Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. The government is heavily dependent on customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), and worker remittances from South Africa supplement domestically earned income. Subsistence agriculture employs approximately 70% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp were major foreign exchange earners; however, the wood pulp producer closed in January 2010, and sugar is now the main export earner. 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. Customs revenues plummeted due to the global economic crisis and a drop in South African imports. The resulting decline in revenue has pushed the country into a fiscal crisis. The government has requested assistance from the IMF and from the African Development Bank, but in 2011 was not able to meet the targets-including cutting the wage bill and improving spending controls-necessary to receive aid. Swaziland is looking to other countries, including South Africa, for assistance, but continues to struggle to meet its monthly payroll and fund government programs. 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 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 more than one-quarter of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$6.12 billion (2011 est.)
$6.222 billion (2010 est.)
$6.12 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$5,200 (2011 est.)
$5,300 (2010 est.)
$5,100 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$3.9 billion (2011 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
|
-2.1% (2011 est.)
2% (2010 est.)
1.2% (2009 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 7.8%
industry: 50.8%
services: 41.4% (2011 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
|
8.9% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
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69% (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.7% (2001) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
50.4 (2001) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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8% (2011 est.)
4.5% (2010 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
|
6.5% (31 December 2010 est.)
6.5% (31 December 2009 est.) |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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10.8% (31 December 2011 est.)
9.75% (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of money:
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$211.8 million (31 December 2008)
$244.8 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
|
155 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$441.5 million (31 December 2008)
$529.4 million (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
|
323 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
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$435.9 million (31 December 2011 est.)
$425.2 million (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
|
319 USD per capita |
Stock of narrow money:
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$384.7 million (31 December 2011 est.)
$354.6 million (31 December 2010 est.) |
Stock of broad money:
|
$1.386 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
$1.42 billion (31 December 2010 est.) |
Labor force:
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457,900 (2007) |
Labor force participation rate:
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33.41 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 70%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
Unemployment rate:
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40% (2006 est.) |
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
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void |
Budget:
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revenues: $1.041 billion
expenditures: $1.534 billion (2011 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
|
760 USD per capita |
Taxes and other revenues:
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26.7% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
|
-12.6% of GDP (2011 est.) |
Public debt:
|
void |
Industries:
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coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textiles and apparel |
Industrial production growth rate:
|
1% (2010 est.) |
Electricity - production:
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470 million kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
|
343 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
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1.207 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
|
881 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2009) |
Electricity - imports:
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756 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2009 est.) |
Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
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void |
Oil - consumption:
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4,000 bbl/day (2010 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
|
1.07 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
|
0 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
Oil - imports:
|
4,464 bbl/day (2009 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
|
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
|
0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - consumption:
|
0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m (2009 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
0 cu m (1 January 2011 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
|
sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Current account balance:
|
-$461.8 million (2011 est.)
-$708.4 million (2010 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
|
-336 USD per capita |
Exports:
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$1.965 billion (2011 est.)
$1.764 billion (2010 est.) |
Exports per capita:
|
1,434 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
|
soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners:
|
void |
Imports:
|
$2.035 billion (2011 est.)
$2.053 billion (2010 est.) |
Imports per capita:
|
1,485 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
|
motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners:
|
void |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$603 million (31 December 2011 est.)
$756.3 million (31 December 2010 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
441 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
|
$610.5 million (31 December 2011 est.)
$445.6 million (31 December 2010 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
|
446 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
$NA |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
$NA |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$NA (31 December 2009)
$203.1 million (31 December 2007)
$199.9 million (31 December 2006) |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
|
void |
Currency (code):
|
lilangeni (SZL) |
Exchange rates:
|
emalangeni per US dollar -
7.3 (2011 est.)
7.32 (2010 est.)
8.42 (2009)
7.75 (2008)
7.4 (2007) |
Fiscal year:
|
1 April - 31 March |
|
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