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South Africa

Includes South Africa real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about South Africa economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of South Africa best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Parliamentary republic

Capital City: Pretoria (administrative capital); Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank South African Reserve Bank

Currency Rand (ZAR)

International Reserves
USD 51.6 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 368.1 billion (2018, estimate)

IMF – World Economic Outlook, October 2019
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 789.4 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2014 1.8%
2015 1.2%
2016 0.4%
2017* 1.4%
2018* 0.8%

*Estimate
GDP per capita – current prices USD 6,377.3 (2018, estimate)
GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 13,675.3 (2018, estimate)
GDP (PPP) – share of world total 0.57% (2019, estimate)
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 26%
services: 61.4%
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) 0.8% (2015)

OECD, retrieved October 2019
Inflation 2014 4.6%
2015 6.3%
2016 5.3%
2017* 4.6%
2018* 4.4%

*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2014 4.6%
2015 6.3%
2016 5.3%
2017* 4.6%
2018* 4.4%

*Estimate
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: BB

Moody’s: Baa3

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s (Updated January 2017)
Unemployment rate 2014 25.4%
2015 26.7%
2016 27.5%
2017* 27.1%
2018* 27.9%

*Estimate
Household saving rates 0.3% (2017)

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2014 49.3%
2015 51.5%
2016 53%
2017* 56.7%
2018* 59.9%

*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2014 -4.8%
2015 -4.1%
2016 -4.4%
2017* -4.4%
2018* -6.2%

*Estimate

Market value of publicly traded shares 2016 USD 951.3 billion
2017 USD 1,231.0 billion
2018 USD 865.3 billion
Largest Companies Standard Bank Group, Steinhoff International, Sasol, FirstRand, MTN Group, Naspers, Sanlam, Bidvest Group, Shoprite Holdings, Remgro, Aspen Pharmacare Holdings, MMI Holdings, RMB Holdings.

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 29.9% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export 0.48% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export 0.27% (2018)


Total exports USD 110.2 billion (2018)


Export commodities Gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment

Total imports USD 108.9 billion (2018 estimate)


Import commodities Machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs


Exports – major partners China 9.5%, US 7.7%, Germany 7.1%, Japan 4.7%, India 4.6%, Botswana 4.3%, Namibia 4.1% (2017)

Imports – major partners China 18.3%, Germany 11.9%, US 6.6%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, India 4.7% (2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD -13.1 billion (2018 estimate)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP -3.5 % (2018 estimate)
FDI inflows 2016 USD 2,235 million
2017 USD 2,007 million
2018 USD 5,334 million
FDI Outflows 2016 USD 4,474 million
2017 USD 7,366 million
2018 USD 4,552 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser N/A


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – World Investment Report
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking: 84 out of 190 countries (2019)

Subcategories:

Starting a Business: 139 out of 190 countries

Dealing with Construction Permits: 98 out of 190 countries

Getting Electricity: 114 out of 190 countries

Registering Property: 108 out of 190 countries

Getting Credit: 80 out of 190 countries

Protecting Minority Investors: 13 out of 190 countries

Paying Taxes: 54 out of 190 countries

Trading across Borders: 145 out of 190 countries

Enforcing Contracts: 102 out of 190 countries

Resolving Insolvency: 68 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking 60 out of 141 countries

(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 102 / Score: 58.3 (Mostly unfree) (2019)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Time Zone UTC+2

Total Area 1,219,090 sq km

Total Population 1990 36.79 million
2000 44.9 million
2010 51.33 million
2015 55.41 million
2020* 59.72 million

*Estimate
Urban population as % of total population 1960 46.6%
1980 48.4%
2000 56.9%
2018 66.4%
Population median age 27.4 (2018)

Population growth rate 0.97% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy 64.1 years (2018 estimate)



CIA World Factbook / Life expectancy
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 1.2% (last available estimate, 2019)

World Bank / Poverty headcount at $3.10
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
63.0 (last available estimate: 2014)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating Political Rights: 2
Civil Liberties: 2 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 5.4% Mobile: 153.2% (2018)

(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 56.17 % (2017)

Language & Religon

Languages isiZulu (official) 24.7%, isiXhosa (official) 15.6%, Afrikaans (official) 12.1%, Sepedi (official) 9.8%, Setswana (official) 8.9%, English (official) 8.4%, Sesotho (official) 8%, Xitsonga (official) 4%, siSwati (official) 2.6%, Tshivenda (official) 2.5%,

Literacy
Total population: 94.4%
Male: 95.4%
Female: 93.4%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Religions Christian 86%, ancestral, tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions 5.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 1.5%, nothing in particular 5.2% (2015 est.)

World Rankings

Population 59.72 M
Mercer Cost of living index
Cape Town: 180th
Johannesburg: 185th

(2019)
C02 Emissions per capita 8.98 metric tons per capita (2014)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: South Africa

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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