Swaziland 

Swaziland landenbeleid

Beleid vastgesteld op 01 juli 2011

• Er is een landenplafond van 500 mln euro van kracht
• Het signaleringsplafond is 50 mln euro
• - waarvan per 2012-02-29 0 mln euro benut is

Landenklasse: 6

Dekking op centrale overheid opgeschort; overige: case-by-case

Case-by-case policy; cover on central government suspended

Swaziland landenrapport

Atradius Dutch State Business Economic Research

SWASILAND

Political situation

Some Opposition To King’s Rule

Head of state
King Mswati III (since April 1986).

Form of government
PM Sibusiso Dlamini (since August 1996).

Internal Economic Situation
Structural Economic Stagnation

General situation
Structural low economic growth. Economic growth equals only 0.5% this year (-0.9% in per capita terms). Lack of diversification, poor business environment and possible withdrawal of Sun International (tourism concern) are significant threats for the economy. Swaziland is member of the Common Monetary Area and therefore the lilangeni is pegged (1:1) to the rand. This means Swaziland cannot pursue its own monetary policy but transfer problems are mitigated. Very large government budget deficits lead to significant financing problems. The traditional inflow of SACU (customs union) receipts is drying up, due to reorganisation of the union. 

External Economic Situation
Unsustainable Current Account Deficits

Main sources of foreign exchange
Soft drink concentrates (19% of goods exports), sugar (17%), wood pulp (10%), refrigerators (6%), citrus and canned fruit (4%) and textiles. Tourism (services) and labour income from Swazi miners in South Africa (remittances) are other important sources.
 
Main foreign markets
South Africa (58%), EU (17%), North Korea and Mozambique (both 3%).

Main expenses of foreign exchange
Capital goods (27% of imports), manufactured goods (24%), chemicals (15%), food (15%) and fuel and energy (8%).
 
Balance of payments 
The changes in the revenue-sharing agreement of SACU have a major impact on Swaziland’s current account.