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Full meaning African Union Community of Sahel–Saharan States Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Economic Community of West African States Foreign direct investment Gross domestic product Inclining block tariff(s) International Monetary Fund Independent power producer Kilowatt Kilowatt hour Liquid petroleum gas Megawatt Pay as you go Power purchase agreement Private public partnership Standard and Poors Global Ratings Sub-Saharan Africa Transmission and distribution Time of use West African Economic and Monetary Union United Nations Industrial Development Organization Value added tax World Bank Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy General government debt-to-GDP ratio measures the gross debt of the general government as a percentage of GDP. Debt is calculated as the sum of the following liability categories (as applicable): currency and deposits; debt securities, loans; insurance, pensions and standardised guarantee schemes, and other accounts payable. This percentage is calculated from the number of mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 adults. Occasionally a single user will have more than one mobile subscription and so it is possible for this value to exceed 100%. 190 countries ranked This includes all renewable energy sources (solar, wind, small hydro, geothermal and biomass and waste), and excludes large hydro (above 50 MW) and nuclear. Disclosed share of foreign investment in the clean energy sector (of both local and foreign investment in clean energy, this tells us the amount of foreign investment in clean energy). This includes all renewable energy sources (solar, wind, small hydro, geothermal and biomass and waste), and excludes large hydro (above 50 MW) and nuclear. As per the SACU Tariff Book Additional wind-related components are taxed differently: E.g. aluminium bars for blades are taxed at 5%. As per the SACU Tariff Book As per the SACU Tariff Book As per the Value Added VAT Act No 12, 2011 As per the Value Added VAT Act No 12, 2011 As per the Value Added VAT Act No 12, 2011 The median time (the value for 50 percent of shipments) from port of discharge to arrival at the consignee. Refers to all types of entry ports. Unit is days. Year is 2018, unless specified otherwise. The real economic growth, or real GDP growth rate, measures economic growth as it relates to the GDP from one period to another, adjusted for inflation, and expressed in real terms as opposed to nominal terms. The real economic growth rate considers inflation in its measurement of economic growth, unlike the nominal GDP growth rate, which does not. 167 countries ranked. Scores are averaged across 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 with the last year weighing most of the score. See "Source" below for more details.

The components analysed in the International LPI include:
• The efficiency of customs and border management clearance;
• The quality of transport infrastructure;
• The ease of arranging shipments;
• The quality of logistics services;
• The ability of tracking and tracing;
• The frequency with which shipments reach consignees within expected delivery times.

Overview

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, has a relatively small economy which has been growing between 1% and 2.5% since 2015. Growth in 2019 was at a 5-year low at 1%, down from a high of 2.4% the previous year. With a small population of less than 1.2 million people, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) exceeds €3,700 which is roughly the same as the Sub-Saharan African average. The country was first assigned an investment rating of B2 by Moody’s in October 2017, while no rating from Standard and Poor’s (S&P) yet exists. Debt relative to national GDP has more than doubled since 2015, from below 18% to more than 40% in 2019.

Inflation has decreased rapidly from a high of 7.8% in 2016 to 2.6% in 2019. The biggest year-on-year change during this period was a reduction of 2.2% between 2018 and 2019. Eswatini’s currency, the lilangeni, is pegged to the South African Rand and so is vulnerable to correlated rate fluctuations. Exchange rates have been volatile in recent years, often changing by 9% or more against major currencies between quarters.

Foreign investment in the country in 2018 was around €27 million. Investment volumes are regaining strength after a 15% retracement in 2016 and a net investment outflow amounting to €50 million in 2017. With the exception of 2017, foreign direct investment (FDI) has remained relatively consistent as a proportion of GDP, holding between 0.58% and 0.77% since 2014. The country has an investment authority, the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA), to help attract and promote investment.

Solar panels, wind turbines and batteries are exempt from import duties, however some wind turbine components are charged at specific rates. The standard country VAT of 15% also applies to all the technologies listed above.
Regional affiliation
AU, COMESA, SADC
Official language(s)
English, Swati
National currency
Swazi lilangeni
Presence of port
No
Next planned election and cycle length
Parliamentary elections: 2023 - 5 years
(Eswatini is an absolute monarchy)

Demographics

Population
% urban population of total population
% rural population of total population
Population growth rate
Working age (15-64) share of total population
Working age (15-64)
Rest of population
Urbanisation rate (% urban population growth)

Connectivity

Mobile telecom operators
Eswatini Mobile
MTN
All three connectivity indicators
% penetration of mobile cellular subscriptions
% penetration of mobile money
% population with access to internet

Logistics, Import duties and value added tax

Logistics

Median lead time to import
2018
No data days
Aggregated Logistics Performance Index ranking
No data available

Import Duties and Value-Added Tax

Import Duties
Solar panels
Wind turbines
Batteries (for renewable energy storage)
VAT
Solar Panels
Wind turbines
Batteries (for renewable energy storage)

Business intelligence

Energy Ranking

Climatescope ranking
2019
Not ranked
2018
Not ranked
2017
Not ranked
2016
Not ranked
2015
Not ranked
WB RISE ranking
2018
Not ranked
2016
Not ranked
2014
Not ranked

Economy

GDP
Real GDP growth
GDP/capita, real
SSA average
GDP/capita, real
SSA average
GDP/capita, real
Debt to GDP ratio (gross debt)
Inflation rate
Exchange rate
Currency exchange rate vs. EUR and USD
Currency exchange rate vs. EUR
Currency exchange rate vs. USD
Total volume of clean energy investment
No data available
% foreign investment in clean energy
2018
Not available
2017
Not available
Methodologies
Get to know how this Country Brief was developed
Read more
Contact
Questions or feedback are always welcome
info@get-invest.eu