Swaziland's King Mswati III has increased his annual household budget for 2014 by more than 10% to $61m as a large public wage bill continues to put pressure on the impoverished country.

The budget of the king, whose personal fortune is estimated at about $200m, makes provisions for his salary, his mother's upkeep and royal aides.

It also includes provisions for construction work on palaces that will cost the taxpayer about $12.6m.

The royal budget is not debated in parliament, as discussions would be seen as challenging Africa's last absolute monarch.

Mswati, who rules Swaziland with an iron fist, has resisted democratic reforms. His extravagant lifestyle amid vast poverty has been criticised by pro-democracy activists.

The small kingdom is one of the poorest nations in southern Africa, with more than 60% of the 1.2 million population living on less than $1 a day.

In the budget the social grant for the elderly remained unchanged at about $19 a month.

A 2013 report by the Central Bank of Swaziland revealed that the country's GDP growth had declined from 0.7% in 2011 to 0.2% in 2012.

In a recent report, the IMF criticised the Swaziland government's high public wage bill of $34m a month.

"The country needs to look into aspects of reducing its high cost on the government's wage bill which may affect the current economic status," said the IMF head of delegation, Jiro Honda, at the end of its mission this week.

The country's economy is propped up by revenue collection from the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), which makes up more than half of the budget.