Religion in Eswatini

The 2017 census counted 1,093,238 people in Eswatini. It recorded 975,757 Christians, 80,861 people with no religion, 4,869 Traditionalists, 3,626 Muslims, 3,363 people in other categories, 430 Baháʼí, 244 Hindus and 163 Jews. Religion was included as a census question for the first time in 2017, and 23,925 people did not state a religion. These figures describe self-affiliation; later estimates from religious leaders and other sources use different methods and are not directly comparable. Among Christians, the largest census affiliations were Zionist at 37.64%, Evangelical at 25.44% and Pentecostal at 13.40%. Apostolic, Nazarene, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Jehovah's Witness, Seventh-day Adventist and Lutheran communities were also recorded. Zionist Christianity commonly combines Christian worship with traditional ceremonies and rituals. Smaller communities include Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Baháʼí, Rastafarian and Indigenous faith groups. Zionist communities are especially visible in rural areas, while the Muslim community is often not ethnically Swazi. The Constitution protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to worship alone or with others and to change religious belief. It also prohibits discrimination based on creed or religion. Restrictions may apply for defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health or the rights of other people. Available reporting does not describe open systematic religious persecution, but access and public recognition are not equal across communities. Christian organizations receive stronger visibility in some official prayer events, media access and the public calendar, while negative or suspicious attitudes toward Islam have been reported, particularly in some rural settings. A faith group that seeks formal legal recognition must register. The Ministry of Home Affairs oversees religious bodies and related public-holiday and civil-registration matters, while the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade registers legal persons, including faith groups. Christian applications commonly proceed through bodies such as the League of Churches, the Eswatini Conference of Churches or the Council of Eswatini Churches. Indigenous and non-Christian groups generally provide evidence of a religious leader, a congregation and a place of worship. The process can be bureaucratic or slow, and standard processing times and fees are not publicly established in the available information. Registered faith groups are tax-exempt, but donations to them are not tax-deductible. Some unregistered groups operate in practice but have less legal certainty. Large public religious events generally require advance permission from a municipality or a local traditional authority. Urban building projects require local-government permission. In rural areas, a chief and the chief's advisory council may be involved, and land allocation through special committees may carry a fee. Eswatini does not publish one nationwide deadline or fee schedule for all such permissions. The official Christian public holidays are Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The Ministry of Home Affairs and government gazettes determine the current public-holiday arrangements. Muslim observances are generally private, and non-Christian holidays do not have equivalent official recognition. Baháʼí businesses may close for their own holidays. Incwala and Umhlanga are primarily matters of tradition and state practice rather than public religious holidays, although they can overlap with religious life. Public primary and secondary schools provide compulsory Christian instruction under a 2017 directive and commonly hold a daily Christian prayer during morning assembly. No reliable general opt-out procedure is available in the research. Private schools may provide religious education without making it universally mandatory, and the national curriculum includes Religious Education. Seventh-day Adventist students have reported conflicts between Sabbath observance and examinations, elections or candidate nomination, while consistent accommodation is not reliably available. Interfaith cooperation exists alongside Christian ecumenical structures. The Council of Eswatini Churches, founded in 1976, works on unity, justice, peace, reconciliation and inter-religious dialogue. The Eswatini Conference of Churches reports 212 denominations and ministries. A 2023 United States Embassy roundtable included Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Islamic, Jewish, Rastafarian, Baháʼí, Adventist, Pentecostal, Indigenous and Indian secular participants. Participation in state or community dialogue can nevertheless be uneven, with Christian and Zionist perspectives often receiving greater influence. Religious ceremonies do not by themselves replace state registration for life events. A religious marriage ceremony requires a duly appointed minister of religion who is a marriage officer. Civil rites and ceremonies under Eswatini law and custom are also recognized frameworks. In a customary marriage, a chief, Indvuna or Umgijimi may act as the marriage officer. Both parties must give free and full consent. Births, marriages and deaths must be registered through the civil registration system. Civil marriage registration uses form BMD 3 and is due within seven days; customary marriage registration uses form BMD 4 and is due within fourteen days. The Ministry of Home Affairs fee schedule published in 2021 listed E150 for civil or customary marriage registration, E300 for a special marriage licence, E300 for a certified copy and E250 to E1,000 for late customary registration depending on the delay. Current fees should be confirmed before payment. Religious birth and funeral rites have no separately evidenced state-recognition or fee rule in the available information.