- Four in 10 Emaswati see their country as going in the right direction, up from 13% in 2022. But a majority (55%) believe Eswatini is moving in the wrong direction.
- About three-quarters (74%) of citizens describe the country’s economic condition as “fairly bad” or “very bad,” a decrease of 12 percentage points compared to 2022 (86%).
- Half (50%) of respondents say the country’s economic condition has deteriorated over the past 12 months, compared to just 14% who say it has improved
- Three in 10 Emaswati (30%) expect the country’s economic condition to improve over the next year, but 44% think it will worsen.
- Majorities of citizens report going without a cash income (75%), medical care (75%), food (68%), and cooking fuel (53%) at least once over the past year, while nearly half (47%) say they went without enough clean water
- Fewer than one-fifth of Emaswati say the government is performing “fairly well” or “very well” on managing the economy (18%), improving the living standards of the poor (17%), creating jobs (12%), keeping prices stable (10%), and narrowing gaps between rich and poor (8%)
The share of citizens who say Eswatini is going in the right direction has risen to four in 10, three times the 2022 level, according to the latest Afrobarometer survey.
More than half still believe the country is moving in the wrong direction. And fewer than one in five citizens give the government a passing grade on managing the economy, tackling poverty, creating jobs, keeping inflation in check, and reducing income inequality.
In August 2025, the government of Eswatini announced the “grand plan”, a national roadmap that aims to lift Eswatini to “developed-country” status in the next 30 years. The plan, developed with input from young professionals in response to the Sibaya (“People’s Parliament”) national dialogue held in 2023, seeks to economically transform the country, among other things.
Afrobarometer survey findings from April-May 2025 reveal that citizens voice concerns about Eswatini’s perceived economic challenges: Three-quarters describe the country’s economic condition as bad, while half of respondents say the economy has deteriorated over the past
12 months. Only three in 10 are optimistic that economic conditions will improve in the coming year.
Majorities of Emaswati report experiencing a lack of income, food, cooking fuel, and medical care at least once during the previous year.