Republc of 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 Performance 2016
South Africa’s economy as measured by nominal GDP at market prices was estimated at R4 337 billion in 2016 compared to R4 050 billion in 2015. The economy recorded a slow growth of 0.3 per cent in 2016 compared to 1.3 per cent in 2015. The slow growth in real GDP was mainly reflected in transport & communications; financial intermediation & business services and mining sectors that recorded weaker growth rates.
The largest industries, as measured by their nominal value added in 2016, were the financial intermediation and business services accounting for 18.0 per cent of GDP, followed by general government accounting for 15.5 per cent of GDP.
Economic Indicators 2016
| Country size | 1 219 090 km2 |
GDP at current prices: |
R4 314 billion |
Population: (2017): |
55 619 940 |
GDP per capita: |
R77 565 |
Real economic growth rate: |
0.3% |
Annual inflation rate: |
6.4% |
Merchandise imports: |
R1 099 billion |
Merchandise exports: |
R1 096 billion |
Feeds
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Business Day |
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Financial Mail |
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Finance24 |
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The Star |
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The Times |
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News24 |