South Africa
Headline economic indicators for South Africa, with the most recent official readings.
- GDP growth, year on year (quarterly) 0.9% -1.05 (-55.1%) Jun 2026
- Inflation rate 3.2% -1.16 (-26.5%) 2025
- Central bank policy rate 7.3% +0.25 (+3.6%) Sep 2026
- Unemployment rate 32.4% +0.11 (+0.3%) 2025
- Long-term government bond yield (monthly) 8.9% +0.20 (+2.3%) Sep 2026
- Government debt to GDP 82.8% +3.35 (+4.2%) 2024
Prices
| Indicator | Value | Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation rate · | 3.2% | -1.16 (-26.5%) | |
| Consumer price index · | 209.9 | +6.52 (+3.2%) | |
| House price index (quarterly) · | 194.0 | +1.90 (+1.0%) | |
| House price inflation, year on year (quarterly) · | 5.8% | -0.16 (-2.8%) | |
| Real house price index (quarterly) · | 89.1 | -1.21 (-1.3%) | |
| Real house price growth, year on year (quarterly) · | 1.2% | -1.44 (-53.5%) | |
| GDP deflator inflation · | 2.8% | -1.13 (-28.8%) |
GDP
| Indicator | Value | Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP growth rate · | 1.1% | +0.58 (+108.4%) | |
| GDP per capita · | 6,597.71 | +330.53 (+5.3%) | |
| GDP growth, quarter on quarter · | -0.2% | -0.66 (-156.9%) | |
| GDP growth, year on year (quarterly) · | 0.9% | -1.05 (-55.1%) | |
| Retail sales volume, year on year (monthly) · | 3.5% | +0.69 (+24.8%) | |
| GDP per capita, long-run history · | 11,416 | +142.73 (+1.3%) | |
| GDP · | 427,184,325,997.31 | +26,039,327,624 (+6.5%) | |
| GDP, PPP · | 1,029,850,100,741 | +39,105,532,226 (+3.9%) | |
| GDP per capita, PPP · | 15,906 | +427.03 (+2.8%) | |
| GDP per capita growth · | -0.0% | +0.67 (+94.2%) | |
| GNI per capita · | 6,270 | +160.00 (+2.6%) | |
| Agriculture to GDP · | 2.8% | +0.02 (+0.6%) | |
| Industry to GDP · | 24.1% | -0.22 (-0.9%) | |
| Manufacturing to GDP · | 12.3% | -0.54 (-4.2%) | |
| Services to GDP · | 63.1% | +0.07 (+0.1%) | |
| Household consumption to GDP · | 65.8% | +1.19 (+1.8%) | |
| Gross capital formation to GDP · | 13.9% | -0.20 (-1.4%) | |
| Gross savings to GDP · | 12.9% | -0.67 (-5.0%) |
Labour
| Indicator | Value | Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate · | 32.4% | +0.11 (+0.3%) | |
| Labour force participation rate · | 55.6% | +0.01 (+0.0%) | |
| Female labour force participation rate · | 49.9% | +0.08 (+0.2%) | |
| Youth unemployment rate · | 59.9% | -0.32 (-0.5%) | |
| Employment to population ratio · | 37.6% | -0.05 (-0.1%) | |
| Employment in agriculture · | 5.4% | -0.03 (-0.6%) | |
| Employment in industry · | 20.8% | -0.05 (-0.2%) | |
| Employment in services · | 73.8% | +0.08 (+0.1%) |
Money
| Indicator | Value | Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real interest rate · | 7.7% | +0.27 (+3.6%) | |
| Central bank policy rate · | 7.3% | +0.25 (+3.6%) | |
| Real effective exchange rate (monthly) · | 113.9 | -0.37 (-0.3%) | |
| Nominal effective exchange rate (monthly) · | 106.4 | -0.11 (-0.1%) | |
| Private sector credit to GDP (quarterly) · | 67.2% | +0.51 (+0.8%) | |
| Credit-to-GDP gap (quarterly) · | -4.25 pp | +0.83 (+16.3%) | |
| Debt service ratio, private sector (quarterly) · | 8.3% | +0.00 (+0.0%) | |
| Broad money to GDP · | 76.9% | +3.01 (+4.1%) | |
| Private sector credit to GDP · | 89.4% | -0.26 (-0.3%) | |
| Lending rate · | 10.7% | -0.94 (-8.1%) | |
| Bank deposit rate · | 7.5% | -0.44 (-5.6%) | |
| Stock market capitalization to GDP · | 327.2% | +81.52 (+33.2%) | |
| Bank nonperforming loans · | 4.5% | -0.19 (-4.0%) | |
| Official exchange rate · | 17.89 | -0.44 (-2.4%) | |
| Long-term government bond yield (monthly) · | 8.9% | +0.20 (+2.3%) | |
| Three-month interest rate (monthly) · | 6.9% | +0.02 (+0.3%) |
Trade
| Indicator | Value | Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current account to GDP · | -0.4% | +0.22 (+34.2%) | |
| Exports to GDP · | 31.4% | -0.38 (-1.2%) | |
| Imports to GDP · | 29.5% | -0.35 (-1.2%) | |
| Trade to GDP · | 60.9% | -0.74 (-1.2%) | |
| Exports of goods and services · | 134,179,428,667.71 | +6,647,783,590 (+5.2%) | |
| Imports of goods and services · | 126,023,231,104.65 | +6,261,939,771 (+5.2%) | |
| Trade balance, goods and services (annual) · | 8,249,873,720.63 | +438,371,822 (+5.6%) | |
| Current account balance (annual) · | -1,805,993,308.7 | +772,565,927 (+30.0%) | |
| Foreign direct investment to GDP · | -0.5% | -1.09 (-187.1%) | |
| Remittances received to GDP · | 0.2% | +0.02 (+10.3%) | |
| Total reserves, including gold · | 76,023,398,333.61 | +10,588,441,174 (+16.2%) | |
| Reserves in months of imports · | 6.2 | +0.55 (+9.8%) | |
| External debt to GNI · | 44.8% | +0.67 (+1.5%) | |
| Merchandise exports (monthly) · | 11,434 | +361.95 (+3.3%) | |
| Merchandise imports (monthly) · | 9,917 | -167.67 (-1.7%) | |
| Current account to GDP (quarterly) · | -2.8% | -4.22 (-303.7%) |
Government
| Indicator | Value | Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government debt to GDP · | 82.8% | +3.35 (+4.2%) | |
| Government revenue to GDP · | 29.4% | -0.52 (-1.8%) | |
| Government expense to GDP · | 33.4% | -1.18 (-3.4%) | |
| Tax revenue to GDP · | 25.9% | +0.48 (+1.9%) | |
| Government budget balance to GDP · | -4.8% | +0.14 (+2.8%) | |
| Government consumption to GDP · | 18.9% | -0.30 (-1.6%) | |
| Education spending to GDP · | 6.0% | -0.10 (-1.7%) | |
| Health spending to GDP · | 8.9% | +0.16 (+1.9%) |
Demography
| Indicator | Value | Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population · | 64,747,319 | +740,132 (+1.2%) | |
| Population, long-run history · | 63,382 | +482.13 (+0.8%) | |
| Population growth · | 1.1% | -0.10 (-8.0%) | |
| Life expectancy · | 66.3 | +0.17 (+0.3%) | |
| Fertility rate · | 2.21 | -0.01 (-0.5%) | |
| Birth rate · | 18.5 | -0.29 (-1.6%) | |
| Death rate · | 9.2 | -0.00 (-0.0%) | |
| Urban population share · | 63.8% | +0.12 (+0.2%) | |
| Population aged 65 and over · | 6.9% | +0.19 (+2.9%) | |
| Under-five mortality rate · | 35.1 | +0.30 (+0.9%) | |
| Population density · | 52.8 | +0.66 (+1.3%) | |
| Net migration · | 146,370 | -20,602 (-12.3%) | |
| Gini index · | 54.1 | -5.50 (-9.2%) |
Source: Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Translated titles are not official BIS translations.
Source: Bolt, J. and van Zanden, J.L. (2024), Maddison style estimates of the evolution of the world economy: A new 2023 update, Journal of Economic Surveys, 1-41, DOI 10.1111/joes.12618. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. The original sources are listed on each page.
Source: OECD (2026), Key short-term economic indicators, https://sdmx.oecd.org. Original data: Statistics Korea, Bank of Korea, National Bureau of Statistics of China, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Labour Bureau (India), BPS-Statistics Indonesia, INE (Chile), DANE (Colombia), INEC (Costa Rica), Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Statistics New Zealand; GDP for the other countries is national accounts reported to the OECD. India's prices are the index for industrial workers. Colombia's production index covers manufacturing; Israel's is a proxy based on manufacturing. Chile's unemployment series was spliced by the OECD across the 2010 survey change, not by INE. Trade, current account and interest rates come from each country's customs authority, statistics office (Saudi Arabia: GASTAT) or central bank (Russia: Bank of Russia); the instrument and maturity of the rates differ by country. Seasonal adjustment and the 2015-based indices are the OECD's.
Original sources of these estimates
GDP pc: 2008 - 2022: Total Economy Database the Conference Board for all countries included in TED. Otherwise UN national accounts statistics
South Africa
- 1700–1900 (Cape Colony): Fourie, J. and Van Zanden, J.L. (2013). GDP in the Dutch Cape Colony: the Nationals Accounts of a Slave-Based Society, South African Journal of Economics, vol. 81 (4): 467 - 490
Economies nearby
Comparable readings from neighbouring economies.