Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a tiny landlocked country in southern Africa, nestled between South Africa and Mozambique. One of the smallest nations on the continent, it is also one of the few remaining absolute monarchies in the world, ruled by a king who wields sweeping power. A land of mountains, valleys, and a strong sense of tradition, the Swazi nation has preserved its culture and ceremonies through the colonial era and into the present, even amid modern challenges.

The Swazi nation was forged in the early nineteenth century, when, under their kings of the Dlamini line, the Swazi people consolidated in the region to withstand the pressures of the powerful Zulu kingdom and others around them. In the late nineteenth century the kingdom came under the control of the British, becoming the protectorate of Swaziland. It regained its independence in 1968 under its monarchy, and in 2018 the king renamed the country Eswatini, meaning land of the Swazi, restoring the indigenous name.

A nineteenth-century carved wooden container, an example of traditional Swazi craft. Credit: Ji-Elle (CC BY-SA 3.0).
A nineteenth-century carved wooden container, an example of traditional Swazi craft. Credit: Ji-Elle (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Despite its small size, Eswatini has a varied landscape that descends in steps from west to east. The mountainous highveld in the west, cool and high, gives way to the middleveld of fertile valleys where most people live, then to the lower, hotter lowveld of savanna, and finally to a final range of hills along the Mozambique border. This range of altitude and climate, packed into a compact country, supports a variety of farming and a richness of scenery, from misty peaks to subtropical plains.

A landscape in Eswatini, whose terrain descends from cool highlands to warm lowveld savanna. Credit: Sara Atkins (CC BY 2.0).
A landscape in Eswatini, whose terrain descends from cool highlands to warm lowveld savanna. Credit: Sara Atkins (CC BY 2.0).
Flag of Eswatini.
Flag of Eswatini.

The flag of Eswatini is rich with national symbolism. It has a broad central red band, bordered by yellow stripes and then blue bands, with a black and white Nguni shield, two spears, and a staff decorated with tassels laid across the red. The blue stands for peace, the yellow for the country's mineral resources, and the red for past battles. The shield and weapons represent protection from the nation's enemies, and the fact that the shield is both black and white is taken to symbolise racial harmony.

The majority of people in Eswatini are Christians, the result of missionary activity, belonging to a range of Protestant churches, including large independent African churches that weave together Christian and traditional elements, as well as the Roman Catholic Church. Traditional Swazi beliefs, centred on reverence for ancestors and the spiritual role of the monarchy, remain deeply influential and are often blended with Christianity. The king and the royal family hold an important spiritual as well as political place in national life.

Swazi cuisine is based on the produce of a farming and herding country. Maize is the staple, ground and cooked into a stiff porridge eaten with relishes, and sorghum is used both as food and to brew a traditional beer central to ceremonies. Meat, especially beef from the cattle that are a measure of wealth and status, is prized for special occasions, and dishes of vegetables, beans, and pumpkin, along with sour-milk products, complete a simple, hearty traditional diet.

Agriculture is important to Eswatini both for subsistence and for export. Most rural families grow maize and other food crops and raise cattle, which carry great cultural as well as economic value. On a larger commercial scale, the country is a significant producer of sugar, grown on irrigated estates in the lowveld and forming a major export, along with wood pulp from its forests and citrus and other fruit. The contrast between commercial estates and small family farms is a feature of the rural economy.

The forging of the Swazi nation under its Dlamini kings, the survival of the kingdom through the era of the powerful Zulu and the colonial period, and the regaining of independence in 1968 are central to the nation's identity. Eswatini is notable today as one of the world's last absolute monarchies, in which the king holds supreme power, a status that has drawn both pride in tradition and calls for democratic reform. Its vivid royal ceremonies remain a powerful expression of Swazi culture.

A traditional Swazi homestead, reflecting the building styles and culture of the Swazi people. Credit: ZS Khumalo (CC BY-SA 4.0).
A traditional Swazi homestead, reflecting the building styles and culture of the Swazi people. Credit: ZS Khumalo (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Eswatini has a population of around 1.2 million people, almost all of them ethnic Swazi, a Bantu people sharing a single language, siSwati, alongside the official English, and a strong common culture, which makes the country one of the more homogeneous in Africa. The population is largely rural and concentrated in the central middleveld, and the country has two capitals, the administrative Mbabane and the royal and legislative Lobamba. Eswatini has been heavily affected by the regional HIV epidemic.