Eswatini

Is Eswatini safe to visit?

Yes, with care. Eswatini is small, quiet by regional standards and easy to reach from Johannesburg or Kruger, and most visitors spend a few days in its game reserves and craft markets without trouble. The US keeps it at Level 2 for crime and unrest, and the UK advises against travel to no part of it. The real risks are the roads, a homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary well above the global average, protests that can turn violent, and weak public hospitals. We score Eswatini 54, below Botswana but above Lesotho and South Africa.

Crime: high murder rate, little aimed at visitors

UNODC recorded 12.5 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people in 2021, the latest year available, and 11.2 in 2017. That is far below South Africa's 36.6 (2025/26) but still high by world standards. Human Rights Watch says gender-based violence is persistent and reported rapes are rising, which accounts for part of the toll.

For visitors, crime mostly means theft. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes casual theft, pickpocketing and occasional muggings, mainly on the edges of towns and at night, and says armed robbery has happened but is not common. The US is a little more cautious: it calls crime common, mentions sporadic armed robberies and carjackings, and says the police may lack the resources to respond.

Practical steps:

• Do not walk in downtown Mbabane or Manzini after dark; take a taxi your lodge arranges.
• Leave expensive watches and jewellery out of sight and carry little cash.
• Expect more crime in the weeks before Christmas, when the FCDO says it usually rises.

Protests and the monarchy

Eswatini is Africa's last absolute monarchy. King Mswati III has ruled since 1986, political parties are banned and Freedom House scores the country 17 out of 100. In 2021 pro-democracy protests spread across the country, and Human Rights Watch says police and soldiers shot at protesters and passers-by with live ammunition, killed scores of people and injured hundreds, including children. Nobody has been held to account, and the human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko was shot dead at his home in January 2023.

The country has been calmer since, and the 2026 Global Peace IndexGlobal Peace IndexAn annual ranking of 163 countries by how peaceful they are, based on conflict, crime, militarisation and political instability.More in the glossary ranks it 104th of 163, up six places. But protests and strikes over politics or the economy still happen, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says security forces police them heavily and sometimes use force. Both the US and UK advise avoiding all gatherings, even peaceful ones.

Roads are the biggest danger

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 24.7 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, about ten times the UK rate in the same WHO series; its older model put the 2019 rate at 33.5. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns of slow lorries on hills that tempt drivers into risky overtaking, potholes and poor markings on minor roads, and animals that cause serious crashes. At night, abandoned unlit trailers and badly lit heavy vehicles add to the danger.

Public transport is risky because of poor driving, tired drivers and old vehicles, and urban minibuses are usually overcrowded. The airport coaches between Johannesburg and Mbabane are the exception; the FCDO calls them generally safe. If you drive yourself, keep to daylight on rural roads. The drink-driving limit is lower than in England (50 mg per 100 ml), and police run random checks. Carry both your licence and a 1949 international driving permit, which you must buy before you leave the UK.

Health: malaria in places, thin hospitals

CDC recommends malaria tablets for the east of Eswatini, which takes in all of Lubombo region and the eastern halves of Hhohho, Manzini and Shiselweni, so give a travel clinic your exact route. Rabid dogs are common, schistosomiasis is a risk in rivers and dams, and tick-bite fever is possible on bush walks.

Public care is the bigger worry. Human Rights Watch says public hospitals ran short of essential medicines in 2025, leading to preventable deaths; the Mbabane Government Hospital, the main referral hospital, closed for two days in June 2025 for lack of medicine and staff. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says serious emergencies usually mean transfer to South Africa, and private hospitals will arrange it only if you are insured or can pay up front. Eswatini has one of the world's highest HIV rates, about 29% of adults in a 2015 UNAIDS estimate. Call 977 for an ambulance.

Storms in summer

Eswatini has no cyclone or earthquake risk to speak of. From November to April, violent thunderstorms with lightning, heavy rain and hail are common, especially in the highlands, and they can damage roads and cause local flooding. Get off exposed ridges and out of the water when a storm builds.

How we scored it

Natural hazards (75) and conflict (68) are Eswatini's strongest factors. Road safety (36) is the weakest, at the bottom of the band for WHO's 2021 estimate of 24.7 deaths per 100,000, followed by violent crime (48) and health (48). Confidence is medium: the homicide figure is from 2021 and the road rate is a WHO estimateWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary, but both advisories are recent.