MigrantoMigration trends in Eswatini
Africa
Eswatini takes in more people than it loses: 25.8K immigrants against 11.6K emigrants. Net balance +14.3K — 1% of the country's population
1.2M
Population
25.8K
Immigrants
11.6K
Emigrants
+14.3K
Inflow
1 in 48 residents of Eswatini was born abroad — and 1 in 109 people born in Eswatini lives abroad
#180 in the world by net migration gain
Top corridors
The largest migration flows in Eswatini
Where people come from
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
67.8K immigrants · 31.3K emigrants
1995
- The country became a place of departure — more people leaving than arriving
- Immigration contracted — the foreign-born population fell 59%
2000
- The outflow deepened — net losses doubled to 3.1K
2005
- South Africa overtook Mozambique as the largest source of new arrivals
2015
- The exodus eased — the diaspora shrank by 24%
- The gap between arrivals and departures was cut in half
2020
- The country became a destination — more people arriving than leaving
Today
- The exodus eased — the diaspora shrank by 39%
- Net migration doubled — the surplus reached 14.3K
- Since 1990: roughly the same number of foreign-born residents and roughly the same number of emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
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