Nevertheless, the majority of the population – about 75 percent—is employed in subsistence agriculture on Swazi Nation Land, which, in contrast, suffers from low productivity and investment.

This dual nature of the Swazi economy, with high productivity in textile manufacturing and in the industrialized agricultural title deed lands on the one hand, and declining productivity subsistence agriculture on Swazi Nation Land on the other, may well explain the country's overall low growth, high inequality and unemployment.

Low agricultural productivity in the Swazi nation lands, repeated droughts, the effect of HIV/AIDS, and an overly large[clarification needed] and inefficient government sector are likely contributing factors.

The considerable[clarification needed] spending has not led to more economic growth and has not benefitted the poor to the same extent as regional comparators, although the poverty headcount has shifted slightly during the first decade of the 2000s (SHIES 2010).

rapid growth in SACU revenues has, however, reversed the fiscal situation, and a sizeable[clarification needed] surplus was recorded in 2006/07 and 2012/13.

[citation needed] Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and the Republic of South Africa form the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), where import duties apply uniformly to member countries.

Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa also are members of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) in which repatriation and unrestricted funds are permitted.

The older east–west link, called the Goba line, makes it possible to export bulk goods from Eswatini through the Port of Maputo in Mozambique.

Since mid-1985, the depreciated value of the currency has increased the competitiveness of Swazi exports and moderated the growth of imports, generating trade surpluses.

Another trade partner for Eswatini was the United States where they shipped 34,000 metric tons of sugar in the 2014-2015 year under the Tariff Rate Quota.

The expected output based on the 2015-2016 post forecast predictions are that Eswatini will produce 705,000 metric tons, a new record for the country that can be attributed to an increase in land being available for sugar cultivation.

The goal of the Sugar Protocol was for the EU to purchase and import specific quantities from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Diamond, iron ore and gold have also been found in the past, however a lack of investment and development policy has seen the region's potential falter.

Their contributions to Eswatini's economy through wage repatriation have been diminished, though, by the collapse of the international gold market and layoffs in South Africa.

US$ nominal) Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 40.7% (2001) Industrial production growth rate: 1% (2001 est.)