Governance at a glance
- Government
- Unitary diarchic
- UN member
- Yes
- Independent
- Yes
- CPI score (2026)
- 23/100
- Press freedom (2025)
- 52.9/100 #98
- Electoral democracy (2025)
- 0.128
- HDI
- 0.695
- Regional blocs
- AU
Government and leaders
- Government type
- Unitary diarchic
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| King | Mswati III |
| Queen Mother | Ntfombi |
| Prime Minister | Russell Dlamini |
Safety and security
- Homicide rate (2021)
- 12.5/100k
- Traffic deaths (2019)
- 33.5/100k
- Military spending (2024)
- 1.4% of GDP
World governance indicators
Percentile rank among all countries
Political stability (2023)
31th pct
Rule of law (2023)
28th pct
Corruption control (2023)
25th pct
Government effectiveness (2023)
19th pct
Regulatory quality (2023)
24th pct
Voice and accountability (2023)
17th pct
Corruption perceptions index
- CPI score (2026)
- 23 / 100
- Interpretation
- High corruption
Democracy index
- Electoral (2025)
- 0.128
- Liberal
- 0.097
- Participatory
- 0.110
- Deliberative
- 0.064
- Egalitarian
- 0.077
Press freedom index
- Overall score (2025)
- 52.9 / 100
- Global rank
- #98 / 180
- Rank change
- -13 vs previous year
- RSF zone
- Afrique
- Political #91
- 44.9
- Economic #129
- 34.9
- Legal #140
- 43.4
- Social #91
- 59.6
- Safety #79
- 81.5
Press freedom historical data
| Year | Score | Rank | Political | Economic | Legal | Social | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 52.9 | 98 | 44.9 | 34.9 | 43.4 | 59.6 | 81.5 |
| 2024 | 58.3 | 85 | 49.1 | 41.3 | 47.3 | 64.3 | 89.6 |
| 2023 | 52.7 | 111 | 46.6 | 44.0 | 45.3 | 56.0 | 71.4 |
| 2022 | 46.4 | 131 | 41.3 | 35.0 | 43.9 | 50.5 | 61.4 |
| 2021 | 53.7 | 141 | - | - | - | - | 75.2 |
| 2020 | 54.9 | 141 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2019 | 50.9 | 147 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2018 | 48.5 | 152 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2017 | 48.7 | 152 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2016 | 47.6 | 153 | - | - | - | - | 86.1 |
| 2015 | 52.7 | 155 | - | - | - | - | 73.6 |
| 2014 | 53.2 | 156 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | 53.2 | 155 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2012 | 67.0 | 144 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | 57.5 | 155 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | 52.5 | 144 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | 50.5 | 147 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | 54.5 | 138 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | 40.5 | 127 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2005 | 35.0 | 118 | - | - | - | - | - |