Eswatini Population
Eswatini (also known as Swaziland) had an estimated population of 1,256,174 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 158th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.02% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.07% a year.
Eswatini at a glance
How Eswatini's population is changing
Eswatini's population is growing: +1.07% a year, which works out to about +13,423 people per year, or +37 a day. Births (23.6 per 1,000) and deaths (7.7 per 1,000) alone would give +1.59% a year; net migration removes about 5,775 people a year (−0.46%). Roughly one in every 6,540 people on Earth lives in Eswatini.
Population of Eswatini since 1960
In 1960, Eswatini had 345,337 people. By 2025 that was 1,256,174 — 3.6× larger. The fastest growth came between 1982 and 1992, when the population rose by 48%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 345,337 | — |
| 1970 | 441,216 | +27.8% |
| 1980 | 596,644 | +35.2% |
| 1990 | 872,428 | +46.2% |
| 2000 | 1,041,414 | +19.4% |
| 2010 | 1,111,650 | +6.7% |
| 2020 | 1,192,729 | +7.3% |
| 2025 | 1,256,174 | +5.3% |
Eswatini from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Eswatini at about 86,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 1,256,178 in 2025 (15× 1800) and projects 1,340,878 for 2100 in its medium scenario. The population is projected to peak around 2063 at 1,541,078 and decline afterwards.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 86,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 66,771 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 109,096 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 271,670 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 1,041,428 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 1,256,178 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 1,505,338 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 1,513,674 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 1,340,878 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Eswatini
9 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 1,256,174. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manzini | 94,145 | UN urban centre | 7.49% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Mbabane | 76,218 | GeoNames settlement | 6.07% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Malkerns | 9,724 | GeoNames settlement | 0.77% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 4 | Nhlangano | 9,016 | GeoNames settlement | 0.72% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 5 | Mhlume | 8,652 | GeoNames settlement | 0.69% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 6 | Hluti | 6,763 | GeoNames settlement | 0.54% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Big Bend | 6,433 | GeoNames settlement | 0.51% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Siteki | 6,152 | GeoNames settlement | 0.49% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Piggs Peak | 5,750 | GeoNames settlement | 0.46% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Eswatini compares
Eswatini has almost the same population as Mauritius (1,243,741).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Eswatini | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #156 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1,367,764 | +9% | compare → |
| #157 |  Estonia | 1,366,475 | +9% | compare → |
| #159 |  Mauritius | 1,243,741 | −1% | compare → |
| #160 |  Djibouti | 1,184,076 | −6% | compare → |
Compare Eswatini with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Eswatini
Land neighbours (2)
South Africa 64,747,319 · 51.5× the population · compare
Mozambique 35,631,653 · 28.4× the population · compare
Eswatini's 2 neighbours together hold 100,378,972 people — 79.9× Eswatini's population. The most populous is South Africa (64,747,319).
In its region
Eswatini is the 43rd most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 0.1% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Manzini, Mbabane, Malkerns, Nhlangano, Mhlume, Hluti, Big Bend, Siteki — all Eswatini's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Eswatini when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.