Eswatini has revised its economic growth forecast to 7.9% for the 2025/2026 financial year, driven by renewed private sector confidence and a stable macroeconomic environment.
This was revealed at the inaugural Eswatini Investment Conference held at Sharma House in Ezulwini last week.
Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, confirmed the revised figure during his address, noting that this follows a steady growth trajectory — 5% in 2023 and 4.8% in 2024 — and reflects robust investor activity and sound fiscal management.
“In my budget speech, delivered in February, I was pleased to announce that our economy is predicted to grow by 8.3% in 2025/2026. This was against the already solid growth figures of 5 percent in 2023 and 4.8 percent in 2024. Despite the turbulent and spurious shocks to the global economy in the first quarter of the year, I am equally pleased to have recently been informed that these projections have been revised to 7.9 %,” Rijkenberg said.
“I say with statistical certainty that it is the private sector that is giving us this growth,” he stated. “It is the confidence from the private sector, recognizing the fact that the government is starting to do certain things and starting to get itself on a sustainable path, that is spurring this growth. As the government, we wish to continue to leverage on the expertise, financial muscle, and project execution strength that is germane to the private sector, to get us across the development line.”
He noted that Eswatini’s fiscal deficit had been reduced to between 2–3%, down from double digits in previous years, and that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at approximately 40%, among the lowest in Africa.
The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo, hailed the country’s political stability, visionary leadership, and ambitious development agenda as the pillars of its economic promise.
“We are projecting 7.9% GDP growth this year, and that is remarkable,” Khumalo said. “This is a country on a mission. His Majesty envisions a first-world Eswatini, and under the leadership of the Prime Minister, we are seeing aggressive ambition backed by humility and strategic action.”
Khumalo credited the leadership of His Majesty King Mswati III and Prime Minister Russell Dlamini for steering the nation toward sustainable development and enhanced global investor engagement.