Finance · News
Eswatini: rate gap with South Africa could make credit more expensive
The IMF says a policy rate below South Africa's could push banks to widen their margins. The gap currently stands at 0.25 percentage point.
Country
Eswatini
Eswatini in figures
GDP growth
4.9%
2025 · 2026 : 3.7% (projection)
Inflation
3.1%
2025 · 2026 : 2.9% (projection)
Public debt
44.8%
2025 · % of GDP · 2026 : 52.5% (projection)
Fiscal balance
-7.8%
2025 · % of GDP · 2026 : -6.0% (projection)
Current account balance
+2.4%
2025 · % of GDP · 2026 : +1.8% (projection)
Nominal GDP
5.2 bn USD
2025 · 2026 : 6.1 bn USD (projection)
GDP per capita
4,148 USD
2025 · 2026 : 4,775 USD (projection)
Population
1.3 million
2025
In %
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook
View data
| Observed or estimated | IMF projection | |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.7 | – |
| 2016 | 2.9 | – |
| 2017 | 3.5 | – |
| 2018 | 0.1 | – |
| 2019 | 6.4 | – |
| 2020 | -3 | – |
| 2021 | 4.2 | – |
| 2022 | 0.4 | – |
| 2023 | 3.5 | – |
| 2024 | 3 | – |
| 2025 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| 2026 | – | 3.7 |
| 2027 | – | 3.4 |
| 2028 | – | 3.4 |
| 2029 | – | 3.3 |
| 2030 | – | 3.3 |
| 2031 | – | 3.3 |
In %
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook
View data
| Observed or estimated | IMF projection | |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5 | – |
| 2016 | 7.8 | – |
| 2017 | 6.2 | – |
| 2018 | 4.8 | – |
| 2019 | 2.6 | – |
| 2020 | 3.9 | – |
| 2021 | 3.7 | – |
| 2022 | 4.8 | – |
| 2023 | 4.9 | – |
| 2024 | 4 | – |
| 2025 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| 2026 | – | 2.9 |
| 2027 | – | 3.2 |
| 2028 | – | 3 |
| 2029 | – | 3 |
| 2030 | – | 3 |
| 2031 | – | 3 |
- Access to electricity
- 89% (2024)
- Internet users
- 63% (2024)
- Foreign direct investment
- +1.0% (2025)
- Personal remittances
- 0.7% (2025)
Sources: IMF World Economic Outlook (key figures, growth and inflation; estimates and projections from 2026); World Bank World Development Indicators (population and structural indicators). The latest available year is shown for each figure.