After recording significant gains between 2013 and 2018, citizens’ assessments of economic conditions in Eswatini have taken a nosedive, the latest Afrobarometer survey shows.
Large majorities of citizens say the country is headed in the wrong direction and describe both the national economy and their personal living conditions as bad. Increasing numbers are going without basic life necessities, and few are optimistic that things will get better during the coming year.
While a majority of Emaswati who accessed key public services last year encountered few difficulties, most say the government is performing poorly on key economic issues.
Eswatini’s stagnating economic growth has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini’s post-COVID-19 recovery plan aims to stimulate economic growth through high-impact projects led by the private sector in order to improve citizens’ livelihoods.
