Source
Central bank

South African Reserve Bank

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)

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

 
 
Source
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 2015 2016 2017* 2018*
4.6% 6.3% 5.3% 4.6% 4.4%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2014 2015 2016 2017* 2018*
25.4% 26.7% 27.5% 27.1% 27.9%

*Estimate

Household saving rates

0.3% (2017)

 

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

*Estimate

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

*Estimate

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: BB

Moody's: Baa3

Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)

Market value of publicly traded shares
2016 2017 2018
USD 951.3 billion USD 1,231.0 billion 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.

 
 
Source
Current account balance

USD -13.1 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

-3.5 % (2018 estimate)

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)

 
 
Source
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)

FDI inflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 2,235 million USD 2,007 million USD 5,334 million
FDI outflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 4,474 million USD 7,366 million USD 4,552 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser

N/A

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014

N/A

(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015

N/A

(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )

Source
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)

 
 
Source
Time zone

UTC+2

Total area

1,219,090 sq km

Capital

Pretoria (administrative capital); Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital)

Currency

Rand (ZAR)

Government type

Parliamentary republic

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%, 

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.)

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

*Estimate

 
 
Source
Urban population as % of total population
1960 1980 2000 2018
46.6% 48.4% 56.9% 66.4%
Population median age

27.4 (2018)

Population growth rate

0.97% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy

64.1 years (2018 estimate)

Literacy

Total population: 94.4% 
Male: 95.4% 
Female: 93.4%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day

37.6% (last available estimate, 2014)

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)

Source
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)

Mercer Cost of living index

Cape Town: 180th
Johannesburg: 185th

(2019)

CO2 emissions

8.98 metric tons per capita (2014)

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