Historical Sketch

In the mid-18th century, a unified state of the Swazi was formed by paramount chief (king) Ngwane III. In 1894, Great Britain recognized the sovereignty the Swazi kingdom. After the British victory in the Boer Wars, however, the British protectorate of Swaziland was established in 1906, with the king nominally keeping his position. Swaziland did not get absorbed into the Union of South Africa in 1910 but remained separate. In 1968, it attained independence, and in 2018, the country’s name was changed into Eswatini.

Monetary History Overview

The British administration extended the South African monetary order to Swaziland. After independence in 1968, Swaziland retained the South African Rand instead of introducing a national currency. This step was taken in September 1974, when the Swazi Lilangeni became the national currency, at par with the South African Rand and circulating alongside the South African currency. In December of the same year, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland signed an agreement to create the Common Monetary Area (CMA), a common currency area based on the Rand. Botswana withdrew already in 1976, while Namibia joined in 1992. All the currencies of the CMA members are legal tender everywhere.

Eswatini (Swaziland) joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 22.09.1969.

Currency Units Timeline

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Monetary History Sources