Eswatini: Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Eswatini's customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) fell 8.42 percentage points on 2020 (from 45.32% to 36.9%).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2020), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 12.73 percentage points in 2000 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.12 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is downward, about 2.47 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 73% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Eswatini in the 2021 ranking

• Congo, Rep. — 2nd of 7: 18.77%
• Maldives — 3rd of 7: 18.06%
• Burundi — 4th of 7: 12.96%

What this measures

Taxes and duties on imports are taxes on goods and services that become payable at the moment when goods enter the economic territory or when services are delivered by non-resident producers to residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of tax revenue which includes compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 22 values

Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) in nearby economies

• Angola — 5.13% (2024)
• Botswana — 40.91% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 13.11% (2024)
• Burundi — 12.96% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 20.34% (2020)
• Cameroon — 12.7% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 9.62% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 18.77% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 11.84% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea

More public sector data for Eswatini

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 93.36 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 1.67 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.6% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 5.17% (2025)
• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 12.51 (2021)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 3.79 billion (2021)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 5.33% (2021)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -3.29 billion (2021)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -4.63% (2021)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Eswatini's customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue)?

36.9% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1999?

It is down 14.67 percentage points from 51.57% in 1999. The highest value was 77.08% in 2006 and the lowest 36.9% in 2021.

Is the latest change in customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) unusual for Eswatini?

In 2021, Eswatini's customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) fell 8.42 percentage points on 2020 (from 45.32% to 36.9%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2020), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.IMPT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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