That dollar amount results from a 37.1% advance from $1.75 billion 5 years earlier during 2020.
Year over year, overall sales of Eswatini’s exports accelerated by 14.6% compared to $2.1 billion for 2023.
Eswatini (or Eswatini) is a landlocked nation in southern Africa surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique on its northeastern border.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, Eswatini’s official currency is the Swazi lilangeni. Eswatini’s currency shrank by -10.4% against the US dollar since 2020 but strengthened by 0.7% from 2023 to 2024. Consequently, Eswatini’s weaker local currency compared to 2020 makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Eswatini’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 92.7% of products exported from Eswatini was bought by importers in: South Africa (64% of the Swazi total), United Kingdom (6.4%), Kenya (4%), Mozambique (3.7%), Nigeria (3.3%), Zimbabwe (2.5%), Tanzania (1.8%), Botswana (1.72%), United States of America (1.68%), Uganda (1.64%), Zambia (1%) and Namibia (0.8%).
From a continental perspective, 87.7% of Eswatini’s exports by value was delivered to fellow African countries while 9.8% were sold to importers in Europe. Eswatini shipped another 1.7% worth of goods to buyers based in North America.
Tinier percentages went to customers in Asia (0.7%), Latin America (0.015%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania’s Australia only (0.005%).
Given Eswatini’s population of 1.176 million people, its total US$2.4 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $2,000 for every resident in the southern African country. That dollar metric surpasses the average $1,800 per capita one year earlier during 2023.
Eswatini’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Swazi global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Eswatini.
- Perfumes, cosmetics: US$650.6 million (27.1% of total exports)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $594.2 million (24.7%)
- Other chemical goods: $333.4 million (13.9%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $155 million (6.5%)
- Wood: $146.5 million (6.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $80.3 million (3.3%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $56.8 million (2.4%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $48.2 million (2%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $44.6 million (1.9%)
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $39.6 million (1.7%)
Eswatini’s top 10 exports generated 89.5% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Sugar and sugar confectionery represents the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 24.5% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was cereal or milk preparations via a 23.2% advance.
Eswatini’s shipments of miscellaneous chemical goods posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 18.1%.
The leading decliner among Eswatini’s top 10 export categories was the beverages, spirits and vinegar grouping, thanks to a -6.5% year-over-year retreat.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Eswatini’s most valuable exported products in 2024 were scents used for beverage or industrial manufacturing (27%), sugar (20.8%), chemical industry products or residuals (13.9%), sawn wood (3.5%), coal including solid fuels made from coal (3.3%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits and trousers (2.8%), unknitted and non-crocheted women’s clothing (2.5%), solid-form sugars, fructose, glucose and lactose (2%), sugar confectionery excluding cocoa (1.9%), then fuel wood including wood chips and saw dust (1.7%).
Products Generating Eswatini’s Best Trade Surpluses
Overall Eswatini achieved a US$129.2 million product trade surplus for 2024, expanding by 126.3% from $57.1 million in black ink one year earlier in 2023.
The following types of Swazi product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: US$573.2 million (Up by 24.9% since 2023)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $570.1 million (Up by 6.8%)
- Other chemical goods: $295.3 million (Up by 18.4%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $134.1 million (Up by 9.2%)
- Wood: $119.3 million (Up by 13.3%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $25.9 million (Down by -4.3%)
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $16.7 million (Down by -10.7%)
- Fruits, nuts: $14.6 million (Up by 117.9%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $12 million (Up by 155.6%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $9.5 million (Down by -7.1%)
Eswatini has highly positive net exports in the international trade of perfumes and cosmetics. In turn, these cashflows indicate Eswatini’s strong competitive advantages under the perfumes and cosmetics product category.
Products Causing Eswatini’s Worst Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Eswatini that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Eswatini’s goods trail Swazi importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$316.6 million (Up by 3.3% since 2023)
- Vehicles: -$125.5 million (Up by 11.8%)
- Machinery including computers: -$115.1 million (Up by 16.8%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$106.3 million (Up by 23.5%)
- Cereals: -$100.3 million (Up by 15.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$81 million (Up by 13.7%)
- Cotton: -$66.6 million (Up by 10.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$51.8 million (Up by 4.5%)
- Organic chemicals: -$42.9 million (Up by 6.1%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$36.2 million (Down by -10%)
Historically, Eswatini posts negative net exports and therefore international trade deficits notably for electrical energy and petroleum gases under the mineral fuels-related product category.
Examples of Eswatini’s Export Companies
Not one Swazi corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000 for 2024.
Wikipedia lists companies from Eswatini that support or are related to international trade transactions and processes. Selected examples are shown below.
- Central Bank of Eswatini (state-owned bank)
- Eswatini Airlink (state-owned airliner)
- Swazi Rail (state-owned railroad)
- Tibiyo TakaNgwane (media/sugar/real estate conglomerate)
In macroeconomic terms, Eswatini’s total exported goods represent 13.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($15.1 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 13.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 13.1% for 2023. These percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Eswatini’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of economic performance is a country’s jobless rate. In 2024, Eswatini’s unemployment rate averaged 34.4% down from an average 35.09% for 2023 according to Statista metrics.
Eswatini’s capital city is Mbabane.
See also South Africa’s Top 10 Exports, Mozambique’s Top 10 Exports and Kenya’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook report on Africa: Eswatini. Accessed on January 15, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on January 15, 2026
Foreign Trade , United States Census Bureau. Accessed on January 15, 2026
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on January 15, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on January 15, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on January 15, 2026
Wikimedia Commons, Flag of Eswatini. Accessed on January 15, 2026
Wikipedia, Eswatini. Accessed on January 15, 2026
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Eswatini. Accessed on January 15, 2026