Eswatini (officially the Kingdom of Eswatini) formerly and still commonly known as Swaziland, is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. Its national currency is the Eswatini lilangeni (SZL) issued by the Central Bank of Eswatini. One SZL is subdivided into 100 cents. The lilangeni is pegged to the South African Rand. In 2018, Swaziland was officially re-named Eswatini. Before this, the lilangeni was introduced in 1974 by the Monetary Authority of Swaziland to replace the South African Rand at par. Both currencies remained pegged at par since replacement.
In 1974, the establishment of the Rand Monetary Area (RMA) allowed Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland to issue currencies that are unique to their nations. Swaziland participated in an unofficial arrangement with the same countries before the agreement. Only the South African currency was circulated in the region under the former provision. Through the agreement, the South African rand continued legal tender in every member nation and circulated alongside the nations' national money. Following the substantial depreciation of the rand, the countries replaced the Rand Monetary Area with the Common Monetary Area (CMA) in 1986 to control monetary policy. The Southern African Customs Union and the CMA operate together to assist member nations. The terms of the new agreement gave Swaziland (presently Eswatini) added flexibility in its monetary policy.
