South Africa
Overview
Diversity is a key feature of South Africa, where 11 languages are recognised as official, where community leaders include rabbis and chieftains, rugby players and returned exiles, where traditional healers ply their trade around the corner from stockbrokers and where housing ranges from mud huts to palatial homes with swimming pools.
South Africa has one of the continent `s biggest economies, though this went into recession in May 2009 following a sharp slowdown in the mining and manufacturing sectors. The construction industry, on the other hand, benefited from a huge programme of government investment ahead of the 2010 World Cup. South Africa is, along with China, Brazil, Russia and India, a member of the BRICS club of emerging world economic powerhouses.
Economic Indicators 2018
| Capital City | Tshwane, Cape Town |
| Country size: | 1 219 090 km2 |
| GDP at current prices: | R6.6 trillion (2023) |
| Population: | 61,293,465 (2023) |
| Independence Day | 27 April |
| Website | |
| GDP per capita: | R76,940 |
| Real economic growth rate: | 0.2% |
| Annual inflation rate: | 4.1% |
| Merchandise imports (intra-SACU Trade): | R42.4 billion |
| Merchandise exports (intra-SACU Trade): | R137.8 billion |
| Imports to the Rest of the World | R1.9 trillion (2023) |
| Exports to the Rest of the World | R1.4 trillion (2023) |
Economic Performance 2021
South Africa’s GDP at current market prices amounted to R6.25 trillion in 2021 and is estimated at R6.4 trillion in 2022, reaching R6.7 billion in 2023. South Africa’s growth is estimated at a revised -6.4 percent for 2020 owing to weaker growth outcomes as the pandemic upended global and regional growth. Nonetheless, the economy recovered by an estimated 4.8 percent in 2021 following the pandemic drag and is forecast at 2.1 percent in 2022 as it returns to pre-pandemic production levels (largely due to the impact of existing structural constraints).
The current account surplus is expected to remain unchanged at 3.8 percent of GDP in 2021 underpinned by a stronger trade performance amid exports growing faster than imports. Much of the strong performance is due to growth in the mining sector-representing over 60 percent exports mainly iron ore, rhodium, and coal. In 2022 the current account is forecast to moderate to a marginal surplus but later slide into a 1.2 and 1.5 percent deficit in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
South Africa’s growth is forecast to improve as the economy emerges from COVID-19 ramifications but would decline slightly to pre-pandemic levels of 1.6 percent in 2023 respectively.
