ESWATINI’S ECONOMY UNDER-PERFORMING SINCE 2000

MBABANE – The World Bank Group says Eswatini has underperformed over the past twenty years as demonstrated by its low growth trajectory and limited inclusion since 2000.

According to the country’s economic memorandum and study report by the World Bank Group, with the same trajectory of the last decade, the country will become an upper middle-income country by 2030, but the poverty rate will change little, staying at over 70 per cent. Furthermore, the country will not meet policymakers’ aspirations of becoming a developed economy in the medium to long run.

The World Bank has projected that by 2050, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita will be US$7 475, slightly over half of the 2022 high-income country threshold (US$14 116). At 46 per cent, the poverty rate (measured at US$6.85 per day) will remain high.

The global lender stated that underlying factors leading to the country underperforming include;

• Incomplete structural transformation
• Low agglomeration effects
• Declining and uneven productivity gains
• Insufficient investment in productive capital
• Lagging access to infrastructure
• Low human capital accumulation and utilisation
• Low preparedness for climate risks
• Inefficient fiscal policy and institutions.

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