MBABANE – Eswatini has dropped to 30th position in the 2026/27 edition of Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) Where to Invest in Africa report.
The country fell behind 29 other African economies assessed for their relative attractiveness as investment destinations.
The kingdom recorded an overall score of -0.54 in the investment attractiveness model, placing it below the hypothetical African average of zero.
Only Zimbabwe, which ranked 31st with a score of -0.65, was positioned lower.
The latest result represents a one-place decline from 29th position in the 2025/26 edition.
However, Eswatini had also occupied 30th position in the 2024/25 rankings, meaning its overall standing has returned to where it was two editions ago.
The country’s performance contrasts with that of several regional peers, including Namibia, which climbed to 14th, Botswana at 15th and Zambia at 17th. Lesotho, meanwhile, recorded one of the largest improvements in the latest edition, rising four places to 26th.
The report’s findings are contained in RMB’s 2026/27 investment attractiveness assessment, which compares 31 African countries using 20 indicators covering economic performance, market accessibility, investment conditions and human development.
Together, the countries analysed account for approximately 90th of Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP), 83 per cent of its population and 61 per cent of its land area.
While the rankings offer an indication of how countries compare as potential investment destinations, RMB cautions that no single ranking can determine whether a particular country is suitable for every investor.
The relative importance of market size, institutional quality, economic growth and other factors depends on the nature of the investment being considered.
For Eswatini, the more important question is what the report reveals about the structural characteristics affecting its attractiveness and how these could be addressed.
