Global InformationEconomy of South Africa information
 Johannesburg, the financial capital of South Africa | |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR, R) |
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Fiscal year |
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Trade organisations | AU, WTO, BRICS, AfCFTA, G-20, SACU and others |
Country group |
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| Statistics | |
| Population |
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| GDP |
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| GDP rank |
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GDP growth |
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GDP per capita |
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GDP per capita rank |
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GDP by sector |
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Inflation (CPI) | 4.5% (2024)[4] |
Population below poverty line |
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Gini coefficient |  61.8 very high (2021)[10] |
Human Development Index |
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Labour force |
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Labour force by occupation |
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| Unemployment |
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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 | |
| Exports |
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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 |
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| Imports |
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Import goods | machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs |
Main import partners |
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FDI stock |
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Current account |  −$1.046 billion (2023 Q3 est.)[22] |
Gross external debt | $156.1 billion ( 2023 est.)[23] |
| Public finances | |
Government debt |  75.8% of GDP (2024 est.)[24] |
Budget balance | −4.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[21] |
| Revenues | $122.49 billion (2022 est.) |
| Expenses | $139.28 billion (2022 est.) |
Credit rating |
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Foreign reserves |
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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.[30][31][32] The economy is the most industrialized, technologically advanced, and diversified economy in Africa.[33] 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 two decades of ending apartheid.[34][35]
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,[36] 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.[37] In 2021, South Africa-based financial institutions managed more than US$1.41 trillion in assets.[38] The total market capitalization of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is US$1.28 trillion as of October 2021.[39]
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.[40][41] The nation is among the G20, and is the only African country that is a permanent member of the group.[42]
- ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "South Africa Overview (2024) - South Africa". imf.org. IMF. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "South Africa Datasets". Internal Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "GDP per capita, currentprices". imf.org. IMF. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ "GDP per capita, currentprices". imf.org. IMF. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ a b "The World Factbook- South Africa". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "Number of people living in extreme poverty in South Africa from 2016 to 2030". statista.com. Natalie Cowlig. October 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ "South Africa Overview". World Bank. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
- ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ Nations, United. "Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. UNDP. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ "Labour force, total - South Africa Data (2023) - South Africa". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Unemployment rate rises in South Africa". businesstech.co.za. BusinessTech. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
- ^ "South Africa Unemployment (2023) - South Africa". StatsSA. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "South Africa Unemployment (2023) - South Africa" (PDF). StatsSA. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "South Africa Trading (2022) - South Africa". oec.world. OEC. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Top South African Trading Partners 2021". worldstopexports.com.
- ^ "South Africa Trading (2022) - South Africa". oec.world. OEC. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Ease of Doing Business in South Africa". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ a b c "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ "South Africa - Current Account Balance". Retrieved 3 April 2024.
- ^ "South Africa External Debt". ceicdata.com. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "World Economic Outlook (October 2023) - General government gross debt". imf.org. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "S&P upgrades South Africa's outlook to 'positive'". businesslive.co.za. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Rating Action: Moody's changes South Africa's outlook to stable; affirms Ba2 ratings". moodys.com. April 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ "Fitch Revises South Africa's Outlook to Stable; Affirms at 'BB-'". fitchratings.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "Scope downgrades South Africa's credit ratings to BB, revises Outlooks to Stable". scoperatings.com. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "Total reserves South Africa (2024) - South Africa". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "South Africa - Market Overview". International Trade Administration. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "South Africa: Introduction". globaledge.msu.edu. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Canada, Global Affairs (30 May 2023). "Information and communication technology (ICT) market in South Africa". GAC. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "South Africa since apartheid: Boom or bust? - CNN.com". CNN. 27 November 2013.
- ^ Herbst, Jeffrey; Mills, Greg (2015). How South Africa Works: And Must Do Better. Pan Macmillan South Africa. ISBN 978-1-77010-408-2.
- ^ "Statista – Mining Industry in South Africa".
- ^ "South Africa: finance sector's value added to GDP from 2014 to 2020".
- ^ "Topic: Financial Market in Africa".
- ^ "Johannesburg Stock ExchangeL Market Data". 17 October 2021.
- ^ "16 things businesses hate about South Africa". Business Tech. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Economies". Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ 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.