Eswatini

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Eswatini fought or stood against, from the first to today.

1. Ndwandwe kingdom1815 to 1820

   Under Zwide, the Ndwandwe were the strongest power between the Pongola and the coast. Their pressure pushed Sobhuza I north into the hills that became the Swazi heartland, before Shaka's Zulu broke them around 1819.

2. 🇿🇦 Zulu kingdom1820 to 1879

   Shaka and his successors Dingane and Mpande saw the Swazi as rivals and prey. Zulu armies invaded in the 1830s and 1840s, and Mswati II sought British support from Natal. The threat ended with the Zulu defeat by Britain in 1879.

3. 🇿🇦 Pedi kingdom1879

   In November 1879 a large Swazi army joined British forces in storming the stronghold of Sekhukhune, king of the Pedi, who had resisted both the Transvaal and Britain. The Pedi kingdom fell and Sekhukhune was captured.

4. 🇿🇦 South African Republic1880 to 1899

   The Transvaal Boers pressed on Swazi grazing land and bought up concessions. The border deals of 1881 and 1884 left much Swazi land on their side, and from 1894 the republic administered Swaziland itself, until the South African War ended its rule.

5. 🇬🇧 British Empire1903 to 1968

   Britain ruled Swaziland from 1903 and imposed a 1907 partition that gave about two thirds of the land to concession holders. Sobhuza II fought it in the courts and lost before the Privy Council in 1926; Swazis bought much of the land back over the following decades.

6. 🇿🇦 South Africa1982 to 1984

   Swazi kings have long claimed land in today's Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. A 1982 deal to hand over KaNgwane and Ingwavuma collapsed after court challenges in South Africa, and the border has not moved since.

Today

Eswatini now

A Swazi kingdom was founded in the mid-18th century and ruled by a series of kings, including MSWATI II, a 19th century ruler whose name was adopted for the country and its predominant ethnic group. European countries defined the kingdom’s modern borders during the late-19th century, and Swaziland (as it became known) was administered as a UK high commission territory from 1903 until its independence in 1968.

Capital

Mbabane

Government

absolute monarchy

Head of government

Edeupa Yerimin

Head of state

Mswati III

Languages

Swazi, English

Through time

Then and now

• Population1.2 million2023 · 271,700 in 1950
• Life expectancy64.1 years2023 · 43.4 years in 1950
• GDP per person$8,5222022 · $604 in 1950
• Living in cities27%2025 · 1% in 1950
• Literacy91%2022 · 18% in 1950
• Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
• Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
• Military spending1.6% of GDP2025
• War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.