Africa: Emaswati Welcome Foreign Powers, Favour Free Trade

Most say African countries should have a greater say in international decision-making bodies such as the United Nations.

Key findings

About half of Emaswati are satisfied with the way that SADC (51%) and the AU (51%) recognise Eswatini’s needs and interests in their decision making; only about one in five (17%-20%) express dissatisfaction.
Almost three-fourths (73%) of respondents say African countries should have a greater say in international decision-making bodies such as the United Nations.
More than eight in 10 citizens (85%) prefer free trade over limiting international trade to protect domestic producers.
A strong majority (77%) favour open trade with countries around the world, while minorities would privilege trade with African countries (13%) or Southern African countries (4%).
Only 6% of respondents say they have heard of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Positive assessments far outweigh negative ones when it comes to the economic and political influence of China (75% vs. 5%), SADC (62% vs. 4%), the AU (51% vs. 4%), and the EU (47% vs. 4%).
The same is true for U.S. influence (42% vs. 22%), although this assessment is considerably less glowing than one recorded in 2022 (52% vs. 4%).
Only 14% of Emaswati rate Russia’s influence as positive.
Asked who helped Eswatini most during the COVID-19 pandemic, respondents most frequently cite China (37%), followed by the United States (22%) and the AU or Africa CDC (6%).
Among Emaswati who are aware of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most (82%) favour taking a neutral stance in the war.

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Eswatini has been on a drive to expand its diplomatic and development partnerships. In 2024, the monarchy established relations with Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Saudi Arabia and signed joint cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding with Indonesia,

Serbia, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, and Türkiye (Africa Press, 2024). In the East, Eswatini is cultivating bonds with Bhutan, South Korea, and Singapore. And despite its relationship with China, its largest Asian trading partner (in 2022, Eswatini imported goods worth more than $109 million from China), Eswatini maintains official diplomatic relations with Taiwan – the only African country to do so (Musi, 2024; Odota, 2024).

Before recent changes in U.S. foreign assistance, the United States was Eswatini’s largest source of aid, including hundreds of millions of dollars to fight HIV/AIDS and strengthen the country’s health systems (Cohen, 2025; U.S. Embassy in Eswatini, 2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Eswatini’s response was bolstered by support from the United States, China, and the European Union (EU), among others (Nantulya, 2021; Delegation of the European Union to the Kingdom of Eswatini, 2020). Even so, Eswatini’s economy suffered greatly due to the pandemic, with devastating effects for its citizens: As of 2022, 59% of Eswatini’s population lived below the national poverty line (Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2024; Musi, 2024).