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South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is 18th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. At the end of 2007, South Africa began to experience an electricity crisis. State power supplier Eskom encountered problems with aged plants, necessitating "load-shedding" cuts to residents and businesses in the major cities. Growth was robust from 2004 to 2008 as South Africa reaped the benefits of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities boom, but began to slow in the second half of 2008 due to the global financial crisis' impact on commodity prices and demand. GDP fell nearly 2% in 2009. Unemployment remains high and outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. Daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era - especially poverty, lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, and a shortage of public transportation. South Africa's former economic policy was fiscally conservative, focusing on controlling inflation, and attaining a budget surplus. The current government largely follows the same prudent policies, but must contend with the impact of the global crisis and is facing growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth. More than one-quarter of South Africa's population currently receives social grants.
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$505.3 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
$514.6 billion (2008 est.)
$496.2 billion (2007 est.)
note:
data are in 2009 US dollars
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$287.2 billion (2009 est.)
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-1.8% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 145
3.7% (2008 est.)
5.5% (2007 est.)
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$10,300 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
$10,500 (2008 est.)
$10,300 (2007 est.)
note:
data are in 2009 US dollars
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agriculture: 3%
industry:
31.1%
services:
65.8% (2009 est.)
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17.38 million economically active (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
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agriculture: 9%
industry:
26%
services:
65% (2007 est.)
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24% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
22.9% (2008 est.)
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50% (2000 est.)
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lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%:
44.7% (2000)
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65 (2005)
country comparison to the world: 2
59.3 (1994)
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22.4% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
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revenues: $77.68 billion
expenditures:
$94.57 billion (2009 est.)
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29.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
24.9% of GDP (2008 est.)
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7.1% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 171
11.3% (2008 est.)
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11.5% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 32
11% (31 December 2007)
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15.13% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 63
13.17% (31 December 2007)
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$44.66 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 28
$58.49 billion (31 December 2007)
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$124.1 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 24
$141.9 billion (31 December 2007)
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$214.8 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 31
$254.9 billion (31 December 2007)
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$805.2 billion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 18
$491.3 billion (31 December 2008)
$833.5 billion (31 December 2007)
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corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
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mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
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-7.2% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
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240.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
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215.1 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
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14.16 billion kWh (2008 est.)
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10.57 billion kWh (2008 est.)
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191,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
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579,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
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128,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63
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490,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
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15 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
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3.25 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53
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6.45 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
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0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
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3.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
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27.16 million cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
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-$11.53 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177
-$20.08 billion (2008 est.)
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$66.64 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38
$86.12 billion (2008 est.)
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gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
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China 10.34%, US 9.19%, Japan 7.59%, Germany 7.01%, UK 5.54%, Switzerland 4.72% (2009)
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$66.02 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
$90.57 billion (2008 est.)
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machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs
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China 17.21%, Germany 11.24%, US 7.38%, Saudi Arabia 4.87%, Japan 4.67%, Iran 3.95% (2009)
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$39.68 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
$34.07 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
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$73.84 billion (30 June 2009)
country comparison to the world: 39
$71.81 billion (31 December 2008)
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$73.67 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
$67.99 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
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$51.36 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
$49.77 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
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rand (ZAR) per US dollar - 8.54 (2009), 7.9576 (2008), 7.05 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005)
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