Eswatini is a small market that is heavily dependent on international trade. It suffers from its financial dependency on Southern African Customs Union (SACU) receipts, a bloated civil service wage bill, the world’s highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate, economic inequality (Gini coefficient 0.51), and high unemployment. 

The World Bank Country Partnership Framework for FY24-28 identifies high transportation and transaction costs, weak access to credit, and gaps in energy, ICT and transport infrastructure as barriers to economic development and job creation.  The World Economic Forum identifies inefficient government bureaucracy, corruption, and access to finance as the three most problematic areas of doing business in Eswatini.

As in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, the demand for electricity outstrips domestic supply.  To date, Eswatini has 87 percent National Grid coverage and unlike its neighbors, has escaped large-scale power outages or load shedding.  Eswatini is seeking to lessen its heavy reliance on electricity from South Africa; currently over 80% of electricity is imported from its larger neighbor.