South Africa: Economy
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Income Level (by per capita GNI) Source: The World Bank Possible values: High Income, Upper Middle Income, Lower Middle Income and Low Income |
Upper Middle Income |
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Level of Development
Source: United Nations Possible values: Developed, In Transition and Developing |
Developing |
| Economic Trivia | South Africa has the largest economy in Africa. |
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Trade
Source: United Nations Comtrade Note: Top 3 trade partners are calculated by imports + exports. |
Top 3 Trade Partners (2018): China, Germany, and United States |
| Top Industries Source: CIA World Factbook | Mining (Platinum, Gold, Chromium); Automobile Assembly; Metalworking; Machinery |
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [1]
| GDP, PPP (current international) | $790,822,889,195 (2018) |
| GDP Growth Rate (annual %) | 0.787% (2018) |
| GDP Per Capita, PPP (current international) | $13,687 (2018) |
GDP Country Rank 29/196 (2018)
Economic Indicators [1]
| Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) | 4.505% (2018) |
| External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) | $179,306,413,802 (2018) |
| Total tax rate (% of commercial profits) | 29.2% (2019) |
| Real Interest Rate (5 year average %) | 5.934% (2018) |
| Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) | 11.755% (2018) |
| Current Account Balance (BoP, current US$) | ($13,384,035,621) (2018) |
Labor and Employment [1]
| Labor Force, Total | 23,072,331 (2019) |
| Employment in Agriculture (% of total employment) | 5.092% (2019) |
| Employment in Industry (% of total employment) | 23.181% (2019) |
| Employment in Services (% of total employment) | 71.727% (2019) |
| Unemployment Rate | 27.321% (2019) |
Trade [1]
| Imports of goods and services (current US$) | $108,878,184,058 (2018) |
| Exports of goods and services (current US$) | $110,144,477,441 (2018) |
| Total Merchandise Trade (% of GDP) | 56.456% (2018) |
| FDI, net inflows (BoP, current US$) | $5,467,539,710 (2018) |
| Commercial Service Exports (current US$) | $15,597,942,729 (2018) |
Economic Snapshot [1]
Note: Percentile ranks are calculated using the latest available data for all countries within the last 5 years.
How to interpret the graph: The purpose of this graph is to take a snapshot of a country’s economy in comparison to other economies. For example, South Africa’s Exports rank is higher than (please wait...) of the countries in the dataset. For Exports, FDI and GDP measures, a higher rank (closer to 100%) indicates a stronger economy. Conversely, for Unemployment and Inflation, a lower rank (closer to 0%) indicates a stronger economy.