SWAZILAND COUNTRY PROFILE 2017 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ iii COUNTRY FACT SHEET .................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................... v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... vii 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ........................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Background ........................................................................................................................... 2 2. OVERVIEW OF SWAZILAND ....................................................................................... 3 3. ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ................................................................................................ 5 3.1 Economy ..................................................................................................................................... 5 3.2 Developments in the Economy ................................................................................................ 7 3.2.1 The Primary Sector ............................................................................................................ 7 3.2.2 The Secondary Sector ....................................................................................................... 7 3.2.3 The Tertiary Sector ............................................................................................................ 8 3.3 Credit Rating............................................................................................................................... 9 3.4 Monetary Policy ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.5 Trade Environment .................................................................................................................. 10 3.5.1 International Trade Routes ............................................................................................. 12 3.5.2 Exports from Swaziland ................................................................................................... 14 3.5.3 Imports into Swaziland .................................................................................................... 16 3.5.4 Nature and Volume of Trade with South Africa ........................................................... 17 3.5.5 Document requirements for importation and exportation ........................................... 21 3.6 Business Environment ............................................................................................................ 22 3.6.1 Global Competitiveness .................................................................................................. 22 3.6.2 Ease of Doing Business .................................................................................................. 25 4. ROAD TRANSPORT ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................ 32 4.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 32 4.2 Current Road Developments/Projects .................................................................................. 36 4.3 Road Traffic Legislation .......................................................................................................... 37 4.3.1 Transit Policy ..................................................................................................................... 37 4.3.2 Speed Limits ..................................................................................................................... 39 4.3.3 Traffic Fines ....................................................................................................................... 39 i 4.3.4 Vehicle Dimensions and Weights Restrictions ............................................................ 40 5 PASSENGER ROAD TRANSPORT ............................................................................ 42 5.1 Mode of Travel ......................................................................................................................... 43 5.2 Regional Distribution ............................................................................................................... 43 5.3 Cross-Border Operators profile ............................................................................................. 44 6 OPPORTUNITIES ........................................................................................................ 46 6.1 Agriculture and food Industries .............................................................................................. 47 6.1.1 Beef Production ................................................................................................................ 47 6.1.2 Agriculture ......................................................................................................................... 47 6.1.3 Agro-Processing ............................................................................................................... 47 6.2 Manufacturing........................................................................................................................... 48 6.2.1 Engineering ....................................................................................................................... 48 6.2.2 Pharmaceuticals ............................................................................................................... 49 6.3 Tourism ..................................................................................................................................... 49 6.4 Textile ........................................................................................................................................ 49 6.5 Transport ................................................................................................................................... 50 7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 51 8 CONTACT DETAILS OF RELEVANT AUTHORITIES ................................................ 52 9 REFERENCE ............................................................................................................... 53 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Swaziland ................................................................................................................ 3 Figure 2: GDP per capita in US Dollars ........................................................................................... 4 Figure 3: Swaziland GDP Growth rate ............................................................................................. 5 Figure 4: Sectorial Growth Rates...................................................................................................... 8 Figure 5: Swaziland’s key trading partners ................................................................................... 13 Figure 6: Exports from Swaziland ................................................................................................... 14 Figure 7: Sugar Exports ................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 8: Imports ................................................................................................................................ 16 Figure 9: Imports and Exports between Swaziland and South Africa ....................................... 18 Figure 10: Swaziland’s Competitive Ranking ............................................................................... 23 Figure 11: Global Competitiveness Index Framework ................................................................ 23 Figure 12: Swaziland vs. South Africa Indicator Rankings .......................................................... 24 Figure 13: Swaziland vs. SACU Member States Ranking ........................................................... 25 Figure 14: Swaziland vs. South Africa Rankings .......................................................................... 26 Figure 15: SACU Rankings ............................................................................................................... 30 Figure 16: Road network showing the MR3 Highway ................................................................. 33 Figure 17: Swaziland Border Posts ................................................................................................ 35 Figure 18: Number of tourists from SADC .................................................................................... 44 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Population spread per district ............................................................................................. 4 Table 2: Credit Ratings Classification ............................................................................................... 9 Table 3: Merchandise Exports Performance