Demographics of Eswatini

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Eswatini, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Swazi people dancing in a cultural village show.

Eswatini population pyramid in 2020

The majority of Eswatini's population is ethnic Swazi, mixed with a small number of Zulus and white Africans, predominantly of British and Afrikaner origin. This population also includes a small segment within it that is mixed with any number of these ancestries.

Traditionally Swazis have been subsistence farmers and herders, but most now work in the growing urban formal economy and in government. Some Swazis work in the mines in South Africa. Eswatini also received Portuguese settlers and black refugees from Mozambique. Christianity in Eswatini is sometimes mixed with traditional beliefs and practices. Most Swazis ascribe a special spiritual role to the Swazi Royal Family.

The country's official languages are Siswati (a language related to Zulu) and English. Government and commercial business is conducted mainly in English. Asians, Afrikaners, Portuguese, and black Mozambicans speak their own languages.

Population

Demographics of Eawatini, Data of UNDESA (Population Division), year 2019; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Eswatini's population is 1,113,276 according to the July 2021 estimate from the CIA World Factbook. The 2007 Census put the nation's population at 912,229. This number is lower than the 1997 Census, which gave 929,718 residents. The small difference is believed to be the result of massive emigration of Swazis to South Africa in search of work.[1]

According to the 2010 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 1,186,000 in 2010, compared to only 273,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 38.4%, 58.2% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.4% was 65 years or older .[2]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	273 000	43.0	54.3	2.7
1955	307 000	44.2	53	2.8
1960	349 000	45.2	52	2.8
1965	392 000	46.3	51.0	2.7
1970	446 000	47.2	50.1	2.7
1975	517 000	48.0	49.3	2.7
1980	603 000	48.8	48.5	2.7
1985	706 000	48.9	48.3	2.8
1990	863 000	48.1	49.2	2.7
1995	964 000	47.6	49.6	2.8
2000	1 064 000	44.6	52.4	3.0
2005	1 105 000	41.8	55	3.2
2010	1 186 000	38.4	58.2	3.4

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Eswatini not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [2]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	14 000	7 000	7 000	48.1	22.6	25.5	6.70	174
1955-1960	16 000	7 000	9 000	47.6	20.8	26.8	6.70	160
1960-1965	18 000	7 000	10 000	47.9	19.6	28.2	6.75	150
1965-1970	20 000	8 000	13 000	49.0	18.5	30.4	6.85	141
1970-1975	24 000	8 000	16 000	49.3	16.4	32.9	6.87	124
1975-1980	27 000	8 000	19 000	48.5	14.2	34.2	6.73	108
1980-1985	31 000	8 000	23 000	47.7	12.0	35.7	6.54	90
1985-1990	36 000	8 000	28 000	46.1	10.3	35.8	6.13	77
1990-1995	36 000	9 000	28 000	39.9	9.4	30.4	5.30	69
1995-2000	35 000	12 000	22 000	34.1	11.9	22.1	4.49	80
2000-2005	34 000	17 000	17 000	31.8	15.7	16.1	4.01	87
2005-2010	34 000	17 000	17 000	30.1	14.9	15.2	3.57	76
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[3]

Year	CBR Total	TFR Total	CBR Urban	TFR Urban	CBR Rural	TFR Rural
1986		6,4
1991		5,6
1997		4,5
1999-2002		4,2
2006-2007	31,1	3,8 (2,1)	31,9	3,0 (1,8)	31,0	4,2 (2,2)

Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy from 1950 to 2015 (UN World Population Prospects):[4]

Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	41.44
1955–1960	43.47
1960–1965	45.05
1965–1970	46.69
1970–1975	49.61
1975–1980	52.61
1980–1985	56.15
1985–1990	59.66
1990–1995	59.44
1995–2000	52.50
2000–2005	45.93
2005–2010	48.41
2010–2015	54.99

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[5]

• One birth every 14 minutes
• One death every 41 minutes
• One net migrant every 288 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 22 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.[6]

Population

1,087,200 (July 2018 est.)

Median age

total: 23.2 years. Country comparison to the world: 175th

male: 22.2 years

female: 24 years (2018 est.)

total: 21.7 years

male: 21.5 years

female: 21.9 years (2017 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Eswatini in 2020

0-14 years: 34.41% (male 186,747 /female 187,412)

15-24 years: 19.31% (male 99,192 /female 110,770)

25-54 years: 38.22% (male 193,145 /female 222,405)

55-64 years: 4.28% (male 19,915 /female 26,663)

65 years and over: 3.77% (male 15,470 /female 25,481) (2018 est.)

0-14 years: 35.01% (male 259,646/female 253,976)

15-24 years: 22.12% (male 164,117/female 160,478)

25-54 years: 34.6% (male 264,262/female 243,362)

55-64 years: 4.3% (male 25,319/female 37,763)

65 years and over: 3.97% (male 22,113/female 36,116) (2017 est.)

Population growth rate

0.82% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 128th

1.08% (2017 est.)

Birth rate

25.8 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 48th

24 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate

10.7 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

13.2 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.63 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 68th

2.69 children born/woman (2017 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 82nd

Contraceptive prevalence rate

66.1% (2014)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 68.8 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 63.5 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 5.2 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio: 19.1 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 23.8% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 2.46% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Maternal mortality rate

389 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 48.4 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 52.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 44.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 57.2 years

male: 55.1 years

female: 59.3 years (2018 est.)

male: 52.7 years (2017 est.)

female: 51.5 years (2017 est.)

total population:

49.06 (2012 est.)

47.85 (2010 est.)

33.22 (2005 est.)

39.47 (2003 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.02 (2017, 2003 est.), 1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

0-14 years: 1.02 (2017 est.), 0.99 male(s)/female (2003, 2000 est.)

15-24 years: 1.08 (2017 est.)

25-54 years: 0.66 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over: 0.64 (2017 est.), 0.78 (2003 est.), 0.7 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

total population: 1 (2017 est.), 0.99 (2003 est.), 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Education expenditures

7.1% of GDP (2014)

Health expenditures

9.3% of GDP (2014)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

16.5% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

5.8% (2014)

Physicians density

0.15 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

Hospital bed density

2.1 beds/1,000 population (2011)

HIV/AIDS

adult prevalence rate: 27.4% (2017 est.)

people living with HIV/AIDS: 210,000 (2017 est.)

deaths: 3,500 (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease: malaria

water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2016)

Nationality

noun: Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi

Ethnic groups

• Swazi 84.3%
• Zulu 9.9%
• Tsonga 2.5%
• Indian 0.8%
• Pakistani 0.8%
• Portuguese 0.5%[7]

Religions[8]

• Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and Indigenous ancestral worship)
• Roman Catholic 20%
• Islam 2%
• Other Christian 30% (includes Anglican, Methodist, Latter-Day Saint, Jehovah's Witness)
• Other non-Christian 8% (includes Baháʼí, Buddhist, Hindu, indigenous religionist, Sikhism Judaism)

Languages[8]

• English (official, used for government business)
• siSwati (official)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 87.5% (2015 est.), 81.6% (2003 est.), 76.7% (1995 est.)

male: 87.4% (2015 est.), 82.6% (2003 est.), 78% (1995 est.)

female: 87.5% (2015 est.), 80.8% (2003 est.), 75.6% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years (2013)

male: 12 years (2013)

female: 11 years (2013)

See also

• HIV/AIDS in Swaziland

Notes

1. Nolen, Stephanie (2009-04-03). "Where have all the Swazis gone?". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
2. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
3. http://www.safaids.net/files/Swaziland%20Demographic%20and%20Health%20Survey%202006-2007.pdf%5B%5D
4. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Archived from the original on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2017-07-15.
5. "Swaziland Population 2019", World Population Review
6. "The World FactBook - Eswatini", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-04-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. "Africa :: ESWATINI". CIA The World Factbook. Retrieved 12 September 2018.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.