Economy of South Africa

Economy of South Africa
Johannesburg, the financial capital of South Africa
CurrencySouth African rand (ZAR, R)
  • 1 April – 31 March (government);
  • 1 March – 28/29 February (corporate & private)
Trade organisations
AU, WTO, WHO, BRICS, IMF, AfCFTA, G-20, SACU and others
Country group
Statistics
PopulationIncrease 64.104 million (2024 est)[3]
GDP
  • Increase $403.05 billion (nominal, Q3 2024 est.)[4]
  • Increase $993.75 billion (PPP, Q3 2024 est.)[5]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • Increase 0.6% (2023)
  • Increase 1.1% (2024)
  • Increase 1.5% (2025 est)[6]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $6,380 (nominal, Q3 2024 est)[7]
  • Increase $ 15,720 (PPP, Q3 2024)[7]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
Positive decrease 3.9% (Q3 2024)[9]
Population below poverty line
  • Positive decrease 20.5 % on less than $2.15/day (2024 est)[10]
  • Positive decrease 41.1 % on less than $3.65/day (2024 est)
Positive decrease 61.8 very high (2021)[11]
Decrease 41 out of 100 points (2023, 83rd rank)
Labour force
  • Increase 25,158,403 (2024)[13]
  • Decrease 66.3% employment rate (Q3 2024 est.)[14]
Labour force by occupation
Unemployment
  • Negative increase 33.7% unemployment (Q3 2024 est.)[16]
  • Negative increase 60.8% youth unemployment (15 to 24 year-olds; Q2 2024 est.)[17]
Main industries
mining (world's largest producer of platinum group metals, gold, chromium), automobile manufacturing, metalworking, technology, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, IT, chemicals, fertiliser, foodstuffs, manufacturing, commercial ship repair.
External
ExportsIncrease $147 billion (2022)[18]
Export goods
gold, diamonds, wines, iron ore, platinum, nonferrous metals, electronics, machinery and manufactured equipment, motor vehicles, fruits, various agricultural foodstuffs, ground and air military hardware.
Main export partners
ImportsIncrease $113 billion (2022)[20]
Import goods
machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs, cars, gold
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Increase $156.8 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[22]
  • Increase Abroad: $270.3 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[22]
Increase −$1.046 billion (2023 Q3 est.)[23]
Positive decrease $156.1 billion ( 2023 est.)[24]
Public finances
Negative increase 75.8% of GDP (2024 est.)[25]
−4.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[22]
Revenues$122.49 billion (2022 est.)
Expenses$139.28 billion (2022 est.)
Increase $63.633 billion (Sep 2024 est)[30]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of South Africa is a mixed economy, emerging market, and upper-middle-income economy, one of only eight such countries in Africa.[31][32][33] The economy is the most industrialised, technologically advanced, and diversified in Africa.[34] Following 1996, at the end of over twelve years of international sanctions, South Africa's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) almost tripled to a peak of US$416 billion in 2011. In the same period, foreign exchange reserves increased from US$3 billion to nearly US$50 billion, creating a diversified economy with a growing and sizable middle class, within three decades of ending apartheid.[35][36]

Although the natural resource extraction industry remains one of the largest in the country with an annual contribution to the GDP of US$13.5 billion,[37] the economy of South Africa has diversified since the end of apartheid, particularly towards services. In 2019, the financial industry contributed US$41.4 billion to South Africa's GDP.[38] In 2021, South Africa-based financial institutions managed more than US$1.41 trillion in assets.[39] The total market capitalization of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is US$1.28 trillion as of October 2021.[40]

The state-owned enterprises of South Africa play a significant role in the country's economy, with the government owning a share in around 700 SOEs involved in a wide array of important industries. In 2016 according to business executives, the top five challenges to doing business in the country were inefficient government bureaucracy, restrictive labour regulations, a shortage of skilled workers for some high-tech industries, political instability, and corruption. On the other hand, the country's banking sector was rated as a strongly positive feature of the economy.[41][42] The nation is among the G20, and is the only African country that is a permanent member of the group.[43]

  1. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ "South Africa Population (2024) - South Africa". worldpopulationreview.com. WPR. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  4. ^ "World Economic Outlook database: October 2024". Internal Monetary Fund. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  5. ^ "World Economic Outlook database: October 2024". Internal Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Statista was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b "World Economic Outlook database: October 2024". Internal Monetary Fund. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference CIA World Fact Book - South Africa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "World Economic Outlook database: October 2024". Internal Monetary Fund. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Number of people living in extreme poverty in South Africa from 2016 to 2030". statista.com. Statista. October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  11. ^ "South Africa Overview". World Bank. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Labour force, total - South Africa Data (2023) - South Africa". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  14. ^ "South Africa Unemployment (2023) - South Africa". StatsSA. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Statista - South Africa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ "South Africa Unemployment (2024) - South Africa". IMF. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  17. ^ "South Africa Unemployment (2024) - South Africa". StatsSA. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  18. ^ "South Africa Trading (2022) - South Africa". oec.world. OEC. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Top South African Trading Partners 2022". oec.world.
  20. ^ "South Africa Trading (2022) - South Africa". oec.world. OEC. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Top South African Trading Partners 2022". oec.world.
  22. ^ a b c "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  23. ^ "South Africa - Current Account Balance". Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  24. ^ "South Africa External Debt". ceicdata.com. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  25. ^ "World Economic Outlook (October 2023) - General government gross debt". imf.org. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  26. ^ "S&P upgrades South Africa's outlook to 'positive'". businesslive.co.za. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Rating Action: Moody's changes South Africa's outlook to stable; affirms Ba2 ratings". moodys.com. April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Fitch Revises South Africa's Outlook to Stable; Affirms at 'BB-'". fitchratings.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Scope affirms South Africa's BB long-term ratings and maintains Stable Outlook". scoperatings.com. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  30. ^ "South Africa Foreign Exchange Reserves (2024) - South Africa". fxempire.com. FX Empire. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  31. ^ "South Africa - Market Overview". International Trade Administration. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  32. ^ "South Africa: Introduction". globaledge.msu.edu. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  33. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  34. ^ Canada, Global Affairs (30 May 2023). "Information and communication technology (ICT) market in South Africa". GAC. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  35. ^ "South Africa since apartheid: Boom or bust? - CNN.com". CNN. 27 November 2013.
  36. ^ Herbst, Jeffrey; Mills, Greg (2015). How South Africa Works: And Must Do Better. Pan Macmillan South Africa. ISBN 978-1-77010-408-2.
  37. ^ "Statista – Mining Industry in South Africa".
  38. ^ "South Africa: finance sector's value added to GDP from 2014 to 2020".
  39. ^ "Topic: Financial Market in Africa".
  40. ^ "Johannesburg Stock ExchangeL Market Data". 17 October 2021.
  41. ^ "16 things businesses hate about South Africa". Business Tech. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  42. ^ "Economies". Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  43. ^ Wood, Catherine Grant Makokera and Christopher. "GEG Africa – South Africa and the G-20". gegafrica.org. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.