Average Salary in Swaziland

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Average Hourly Wage in Swaziland

Swaziland’s average hourly earnings are 26 SZL. Annual earnings are calculated by multiplying hourly wages by the number of working hours. The average workweek is 40 hours per week, with a range from 25-45 hours weekly.

How much does a Swazi worker earn?

The average monthly wage in Swaziland is 4,510 SZL. Though this is still considered low in the region (for comparison, the average monthly salary for Mozambique and Malawi is 1250 and 986 SZL respectively), it is a vast increase from 15 years ago.

In, the country’s minimum wage is expected to rise to 8,042 SZL. However, this is still below the median monthly wage of 9,786 SZL as per 2016 records.

Salary is often related to employment status. For example, those with permanent positions enjoy a 10% higher median monthly wage than casual workers (8,536 and 7,886 SZL respectively).

As such, formal jobs tend to be more highly coveted and well-paid compared to informal ones— an observation that holds true across most African countries.

Swaziland Salaries Distribution

Pay Scale

Swaziland’s monthly wage is 1,140 SZL. The minimum wage is 300 SZL. In the majority of cases, a new employee will be hired at a salary between 500 and 1,200 SZL. An experienced worker may earn more than 12,000 SZL per month depending on skills and experience.

In general, the highest salaries are earned by workers with higher levels of education or specialised training who have been unemployed for long periods of time.

Median Wage

The median monthly wage is 4,150 SZL, which implies that half of the population earns less than 4,150 SZL and the other half earns more.

The median monthly wage is the same as the average monthly wage because all full-time workers are counted.

Percentiles

25% of the population earns less than 2,380 SZL whereas 75% earn more.

What’s the difference between the median and average pay?

You are doing well if your wage is greater than the average and median. However, there is a key difference. The median wage is the halfway point- half of the people earn more than that number and half earn less.

Since this number does not take into account top earners it can be distorted by just a few high-wage earners. In contrast, the average pay takes everyone’s income into account so if one person earns an extremely large amount it skews the average upwards.

Therefore, knowing your personal median pay may help you to better understand where you stand among all workers in terms of how much money you make.

Salary by Education in Swaziland

What effect does education have on pay?

If you have a degree in Swaziland, chances are that your pay packet is going to be bigger than if you don’t.

According to figures released in July 2015 by the Swaziland National Statistical Agency (NSSA), people with tertiary education earn an average of SZL 142,826 (US$9,730) per year, while those with secondary education earn an average of SZL99,874 (US$6,900) and those who have completed primary education earn an average of SZL79,997 (US$5,400).

Is a Master’s or MBA worth it? Should you further your education?

Obtaining an MBA in Swaziland is becoming more common. The MBA is considered the standard in many industries and is an important step for advancement or starting your own business.

An MBA requires a large commitment of time and money, both of which you should consider before jumping into your studies.

When looking at whether to obtain an MBA, it’s important to look at the salary difference between employees with an MBA and those without one. MBA holders are typically paid more and promoted at a greater rate than their peers.

For some professions, like engineering and computer science, obtaining an MBA does not result in a large increase in salary. However, for other fields such as finance and business administration, the difference is significant enough to justify the effort.

Government vs Private Sector Salary Comparisonin Swaziland

The average salary in Swaziland is 50,000 SZL. The difference between public and private sector salaries may be due to the fact that there are more opportunities for experience in the government than in the non-governmental sector.

The job market for graduates has led to a boom of small businesses, which provide employment opportunities for Swazi graduates in the form of internships in their projected career fields. This job experience is necessary to gain an edge over other applicants in the private sector.

Gender Pay Gap in Swaziland

Swaziland has the second-highest pay gap between men and women in the entire world after Botswana. Statistics from 2015 show that male managers earned on average 70% more than women doing the same job.

The gap is smaller among professionals – senior managers earned around 75% more than their female counterparts – but still high.

The Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) says the wage gap is also reflected in lower wages for women workers across all sectors.

The gender pay gap does not fully reflect differences between men and women doing the same job but includes other factors such as different employment positions, responsibilities or hours worked. It is generally based on the average hourly earnings of men compared with women.

Salary by Years of Professional Experience

How does one’s pay grow in size in Swaziland?

On average, salaries grow by 6-8% annually with a professional experience of 0-3 years.

Professionals who have been in the workforce for more than 3 years can expect to see an annual salary increase of around 10%. This number will vary depending on what industry one finds themselves in or if they are a part of a union or not.

It must be noted that pay does not go up every year when working towards the same job title in Swaziland. If one chooses to do extra training, get a higher degree of education, or change the job title they can expect to see an increase in salary.

This is because many employers will pay for their employees to study or work towards new qualifications if it helps them perform better at their jobs.

Bonuses by Seniority in Swaziland

The bonuses for Swaziland workers are determined by seniority, the longer one has been working with the company the more return on bonuses they get.

Bonuses for Swaziland workers are paid out of profits or surplus of an organization and given usually around Christmas time to employees depending on a number of years of experience within a company.

The government in Swaziland doesn’t have any rules giving guidelines for companies to implement when it comes to bonuses. Bonuses are usually treated as part of an employee’s salary package which is decided upon before employment begins.

Bonuses are always welcomed in Swaziland however some people may not be very happy with them if their bonus turns out to be less than what they expected or wanted.

Swaziland Annual Salary Increment Percentage

Swaziland’s yearly pay increases: How frequently do workers receive raises?

Generally, employers in Swaziland will grant a 5% raise to employees every 28 months. However, the frequency of pay increases depends on the job position and whether or not the worker is “permanent” or “casual.”

Casual workers receive more frequent raises because they only work for a short period of time. In contrast, permanent employees get paid an average wage due to their long-term employment.

Small business owners typically follow this five% rule when determining raise amounts. Employees of larger corporations may receive raises based on their performance rating or salary grade compared to others in their company.

Some companies give out cost-of-living adjustments rather than fixed percentage increases. Other companies do not use a predetermined schedule for raises and instead base their decisions on company profits.

Swaziland Annual Industry Growth Rate

Education – 7%
Travel – 5%
Information Technology – 3%
Retail – 2%
Public Administration – 1%
Pharmaceuticals – 1%
Healthcare – 8%
Construction – 7%
Finance and Banking – 4%
Exports and Imports – 3%
Oil and Natural Gas Industries – 2%

Average Salary Growth Rates by Experience

In Swaziland, new graduates often start with low salaries while more experienced workers typically earn higher paychecks. However, the Rate of Salary Growth by Experience shows that some experience is better than others when it comes to salary growth.

Workers with five or fewer years of experience have the slowest rate of salary growth at 1.7% annually while those with 20 or more years of work experience have an annual salary growth rate of 2.3%. Workers in between these two extremes are somewhere in-between and can expect a modest increase in their average annual salaries as well.

Overall, the average salary growth rate for all worker categories (those with five years or fewer; those with six to ten; those with eleven to fifteen; those with sixteen to twenty years; and those with 21+ years of experience) is 2.2%.

Bonus and Incentive Rates in Swaziland

How frequently and how much are bonuses given?

It is expected that the employer will give bonuses to their employees at least once per year. The amount of bonus given by employers is usually proportional to the extent of work done by each person, but it also depends on the company’s policy towards this kind of payment.

Bonuses can take many forms, such as cash payments or time off. According to African Economic Outlook (AEO) in Swaziland, “the usual practice for paying bonuses is weekly or monthly.”

Although most people enjoy these kinds of incentives given to them by their employers, some companies do not like giving anything extra because they think that it discourages hard work and dedication among employees.

If you are an employee relocating from another country with your family, you might experience a bit of a culture shock when it comes to the way bonuses are given in Swaziland.

Bonuses Types

Individualized Performance Bonuses

Individualized performance bonuses are one of the most common forms of corporate bonuses.

It is given to an employee in addition to their standard performance-review bonus when they have demonstrated behavior that is deemed valuable by the company.

That is when an individual has surpassed expectations within their own, personal performance plan.

A number of large corporations implement this type of bonus structure in order to incentivize employees to remain productive throughout the year rather than simply wait for a yearly bonus review cycle after the last day of work before Christmas.

Performance-based pay

This is when a worker is paid in accordance with their performance. There are two different types of performance-based pay: piece work, in which a worker’s pay rises and falls depending on how many units they produce, and incentives for individual or team effort, where bonuses can be given to workers who exceed targets.

In the modern world, it is necessary for every company to have an edge over its competitors in order to be successful. This can often come from having better-qualified employees that work harder than others.

In service industries such as law firms and banks, this means using technologies that enable people to do more at their desks rather than working from home all day.

Goal-based Bonuses

Goal-based bonuses are bonuses that are directly given to players when they complete certain objectives.

Goal-based Bonuses are implemented for one of two reasons: to encourage completion of a challenge or to reward players for skillful play. When goals are added as a challenge, it is so that it can be completed, and when these goals are added as a means of rewarding good play, they should only add to the player’s enjoyment of the game.

This makes goal-based bonuses more about adding an extra layer to gameplay rather than increasing performance.

Holiday/Year-End Bonuses

This kind of bonus is extra or additional pay given at the end of a specific time period. These bonuses are usually proportional to the amount of work/time spent in that particular time and can range from being quite small to being very significant in size.

Many employees appreciate having these types of extra incentives because it provides them with more spending power for the next time period.

However, some employers believe that this type of bonus is only a temporary solution to a larger problem and does not actually address the root issue(s) it is supposed to fix.

Others feel that Holiday/Year-End Bonuses are unfair because they can easily cause employees’ salaries to be inconsistent from one year to the next, even if their job responsibilities have not changed or been cut.

Bonus Rates by Job Title

What qualifies a job for large bonuses and high pay?

There are many factors as to why a job would qualify for large bonuses and high pay. It could be based on what type of industry one works in, how much experience they have with the company, or even due to a special skill set.

In Swaziland, a large portion of jobs for people in the workforce has a bonus system. The factors that allow one to earn such bonuses vary from job-to-job and company-to-company, but there are certain fields where this is more common than others.

The highest paying and most common form of bonus is an incentive-based on annual or quarterly profits. This typically amounts to around 20% of regular income (not including overtime and other forms of extra pay).

Another bonus, which typically makes up about 10% of total income, includes profit sharing. Lastly, performance-based incentives make up roughly 5%.

Popular Job Salary in Swaziland

Advertising / Graphic Design / Events

Art Director4,560 SZL
Creative Director4,810 SZL
Graphic Designer2,890 SZL
Photographer2,580 SZL

Automotive

Mechanic – 1,790 SZL
Service Advisor – 3,340 SZL

Bilingual

Teacher – 3,680 SZL
Translator4,380 SZL

Business

Financial, Accounting and Management Consultant – 4,280 SZL
Project Manager – 6,120 SZL

Restaurant & Food Service

Chef – 2,940 SZL
Cooks – 3,020 SZL

Medical Field

Doctor – 6,780 SZL
Nurse – 6,650 SZL
Receptionist – 3,690 SZL