Eswatini formally known as Swaziland is a small landlocked nation inside Southern Africa with a deep need for the redemptive love of Jesus.

Swaziland, the second-smallest country in Africa, has a population density of 53.5 people per square kilometer. The vast majority (76 percent) live in rural areas and depend on small-scale agriculture for their economic livelihood.  Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland depends heavily on South Africa for more than 90% of its imports and for 60% of its exports. Swaziland's currency is pegged to the South African rand, effectively relinquishing Swaziland's monetary policy to South Africa. The government is heavily dependent on customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union, and worker remittances from South Africa supplement domestically earned income. Swaziland’s GDP per capita makes it a lower middle income country, but its income distribution is highly skewed, with an estimated 20% of the population controlling 80% of the nation’s wealth.

Around 40 percent of the population is unemployed, and 63 percent live in poverty.

Swaziland is among the world’s most HIV-affected countries. Around 26 percent of people aged 15-19 and 19 percent of the population aged 2 and older is affected by HIV. This has contributed to an increase in the number of orphaned and vulnerable children.

Violence against women is increasing. According to the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organizations (CANGO), 78 percent of women in Swaziland are survivors of gender-based violence.

Quick Facts:

Population: 1,231,000

Life Expectancy: 49 years

Access to Safe Water: 72%

School Enrollment: 83%

Land Mass: 6,704 sq. mi.

Literacy Rate: 88%

Under Age 5 Mortality Rate: 80/1000

Average Annual Income (GNI): 2,860