Eswatini—the new name (since April 2018) for Swaziland—is one of Africa’s smallest countries. This tiny, landlocked country lies almost completely surrounded by its neighbour, South Africa. To the east, the Lubombo Mountains form a border with Mozambique. In the west are the high, jagged mountains of the Drakensberg range: this region, known as the Highveld, has a cool, humid climate. The capital, Mbabane, is situated here. Further eastwards, the land slopes to the rolling savanna grasslands of the Middleveld and Lowveld, where the climate is drier and warmer.

People

Nearly all Eswatini’s people are ethnic Swazi, a Bantu people whose ancestors came from Central Africa about 2000 years ago. They speak siSwati and English. There are also small numbers of Zulu and Afrikaners. Eswatini has a very high number of people suffering from HIV/AIDS. Thousands of children have lost their parents to the disease. As of 2022, Eswatini had the highest prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15 to 49 in the world: 26%.

Economy

Many people work as farmers, growing maize and other food crops on communal farmland. Others work on larger farms growing sugar cane, or in the mining or timber industries. Eswatini’s economy is very closely linked with South Africa’s. Around half of its exports go to South Africa, and that country supplies nearly all the goods Eswatini imports.

Facts about Eswatini

Population 1,236,126 (2023 estimate)

Area 17,204 sq km

Highest point Emlembe 1862 m (6109 ft)

Capital Mbabane, population 76,218

Other major cities Manzini (pop. 110,500), Big Bend (10,300)

Languages siSwati, English

Religions Zionist 40%, Christian (Roman Catholic) 20%, Muslim 10%, others 30%

Ethnicity Swazi 97%, European and others 3%

Currency Swazi Lilangeni (SZL)

Chief exports sugar, wood pulp, cotton, refrigerators, citrus fruits