Eswatini

Eswatini's immigrant population is overwhelmingly shaped by its geography, sitting entirely landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique. Migrants from these neighboring nations cross the border driven by deep historical ties, shared languages, and highly intertwined regional economies. Today, tens of thousands of South Africans and Mozambicans call Eswatini home, alongside smaller communities from further afield seeking stability and new opportunities.

In the early 1990s, a brutal civil war pushed tens of thousands of Mozambican refugees across the border seeking safety. As that conflict ended and many returned home, South Africa gradually became the leading source of new arrivals due to steady cross-border commerce. At the same time, ongoing regional instability in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa has slowly brought a growing stream of people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Somalia.

Just as Eswatini’s landlocked geography brings immigrants across its borders, it also dictates where its own citizens go, with nearly 10,000 Swazis currently living in neighboring South Africa. Deep cultural ties, shared languages, and the promise of broader career opportunities naturally draw people into this regional economic powerhouse. Beyond the immediate border, smaller communities have established roots in English-speaking nations like Australia for skilled work, or in Portugal, often leveraging historical connections forged through neighboring Mozambique.

For decades, South Africa hosted a much larger Swazi population, peaking at over 35,000 around 2010 due to booming cross-border commerce and mining jobs. However, shifting economic realities and tightening labor markets in South Africa have dramatically reduced this number in recent years. As traditional regional migration cooled, Swazis increasingly looked toward thriving neighboring economies like Botswana or pursued new European opportunities in Portugal.