The Swazi lilangeni
Currency · SZL · 1 country
King Sobhuza II launched the lilangeni at Somhlolo Stadium on 6 September 1974, during the Independence Day celebrations. It was pegged at par with the South African rand and fully backed by rand deposits at the South African Reserve Bank, and the rand stayed legal tender beside it. The Central Bank of Eswatini issues it today.
No sign of its own
The lilangeni has two abbreviations, singular and plural. L stands for lilangeni and marks one unit, as in L1, and E stands for emalangeni, the plural, as in E2 or E200. The name comes from emaLangeni, a term for the ancestors of the Swazi people who moved into the country in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
- ISO code
- SZL
- ISO number
- 748
- Subunit
- cent, 1/100
An amount, written out
SZL 1,234.50
- SZL 1,234.50English
- E 1,234.50EnglishEswatini
Where the Swazi lilangeni is the official currency
In Eswatini the rand is accepted beside the lilangeni at equal value, a legal tender status it lost in 1986 and got back in 2003.
About the Swazi lilangeni
Who issues the lilangeni
King Sobhuza II created the Monetary Authority of Swaziland by order on 22 March 1974, and it opened on 1 April with seven staff, the governor included. An amendment of 18 July 1979 turned the authority into the central bank, with new duties as banker to the government and the commercial banks, keeper of the foreign reserves and regulator of exchange control. Two days later the king opened its permanent headquarters, the Umntsholi building, whose full name translates as the Swati Nation's Treasure. Section 206 of the 2005 constitution confirms the bank and its autonomy.
Why the rand circulates beside it
The lilangeni came out of negotiations over the Rand Monetary Area. Eswatini had long used the South African rand, and the Rand Monetary Area Agreement of 1974 set the terms for a currency of its own: every lilangeni in circulation had to be backed by rands that the Monetary Authority held in a special deposit with the South African Reserve Bank. The first issue came to E2.4 million.
The Monetary Authority of Swaziland Order of 1974 made both currencies legal tender at equal value. The aim was to phase the rand out by encouragement, without forcing it from circulation, and banks were told to send the rand notes and coins they received back to the authority. South Africa undertook to compensate the kingdom for the seigniorage it gave up while the rand kept circulating.
In 1986 the rand ceased to be legal tender. The Monetary Policy Frameworks project, working from IMF reports, finds that little changed in practice, and the rand's earlier status was restored in 2003. Under the arrangement Eswatini has minimal input into the Reserve Bank's decisions, no control over its exchange rate with the rest of the world and applies South African exchange controls.
How the coins lost their corners
The first coins of 1974 ran from 1 cent to 1 lilangeni, and only the lilangeni was round. The 1 and 50 cents had twelve sides, the 2 cents was a square with rounded corners and the 5, 10 and 20 cents were scalloped. The 2 cents was last struck in 1982, and in 1986 round copper-plated steel 1 cent pieces arrived with a nickel-brass lilangeni. Coins of 2 and 5 emalangeni followed in 1995.
The 1986 lilangeni and the brass coins dated 1995 to 2009 matched the British pound coin of 1983 in size and metal, and some were passed off in British vending machines. In February 2016 a new series dated 2015 replaced every earlier coin, which was recalled and demonetised. Its 10, 20 and 50 cent pieces are nickel-plated steel and its L1, E2 and E5 aluminium bronze. The 1 to 5 cent coins are no longer in use.
What the notes have carried
The Monetary Authority's first notes, on 6 September 1974, were for 1, 2, 5 and 10 emalangeni, and a 20 came in 1978. The central bank took over paper money in 1981, starting with notes for the diamond jubilee of King Sobhuza II. The 50 arrived in 1990, the 100 in 1996, and the 200 in 1998 for the thirtieth anniversary of independence, while coins replaced the E2 and E5 notes in 1995. The current notes show princesses at the Ncwala ceremony on the 10, a refinery and farm produce on the 20, the central bank building on the 50, wildlife on the 100 and straw huts with goats on the 200.
Common questions
Questions about the Swazi lilangeni
Can South African rand be used in Eswatini?
Yes. The lilangeni has been pegged to the rand at par since 1974, and the rand is accepted in Eswatini alongside it. The 1974 order made both legal tender at equal value. The rand lost that status in 1986 and had it restored in 2003.
Why is it L1 but E5 on Swazi money?
L is the singular abbreviation, for one lilangeni, and E is the plural, for emalangeni. So one unit is written L1 and anything above it E2, E5 or E200. Lesotho's loti works the same way with its own singular and plural forms.
How much South African money backs the lilangeni?
All of it, under the Rand Monetary Area Agreement of 1974. The agreement required every lilangeni in circulation to be backed in full by rands that the Monetary Authority, and later the Central Bank of Eswatini, held in a special deposit with the South African Reserve Bank. The first issue in September 1974 came to E2.4 million. In return for Eswatini leaving the rand in circulation, South Africa agreed to compensate it for the seigniorage it gave up.