Eswatini

Eswatini: Economic, Security and Governance Snapshot

Eswatini's economy was valued at $4.86 billion in 2024, according to World Bank World Development Indicators (WDI), with per-capita output of $3,909.56 and a population of 1,242,822 the same year. The World Bank also reports foreign reserves of $536.57 million for 2024. The IMF's World Economic Outlook puts government debt at 50.0% of GDP in its 2026 projection.

Defense and capability

Defense spending, per SIPRI's Military Expenditure Database, stood at $93.36 million in 2025, equivalent to 1.602% of GDP on SIPRI's own GDP series for that year — a figure that should not be divided against the World Bank GDP cited above, as the two series are not the same measure. The Correlates of War National Material Capabilities (COW NMC) dataset lists active military personnel at 3,000, a figure dated 1999, and a Composite Index of National Capability (CINC) score of 0.000052509709, dated 2022.

Governance

V-Dem v15 scores Eswatini's electoral democracy index at 0.128 and its liberal democracy index at 0.097 for 2025, alongside a state capacity score of 0.225 for the same year.

Energy

Our World in Data's Energy series records primary energy consumption of 0.0244 exajoules in 2023 and electricity generation of 0.61 terawatt-hour in 2024. Oil production and gas production are both recorded at zero, dated 2016.

Data gaps

The COW NMC personnel figure of 3,000 carries a 1999 date and should not be treated as a current troop count; the CINC score from the same dataset carries a separate, 2022 date, and the two figures describe different years. No more recent personnel count is present in this bundle.

Sources: World Bank WDI; IMF WEO; SIPRI Milex; COW NMC; V-Dem v15; Our World in Data (Energy).