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 ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centres throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate; and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income.
Industry: mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
Agriculture products: corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Key Facts
GDP per capita - $10,600
Inflation Rate - 8,8%
Country Risk Ratings - A3
Ease of Doing Business - 32/181
Global Competitiveness - 45/134
GDP growth:
1999 – 2.4%
2000 – 4.2%
2001 – 2.7%
2002 – 3.7%
2003 – 3.1%
2004 – 4.9%
2005 – 5%
2006 – 5.4%
2007 – 5.1%
2008 – 3.1%
GDP by sectors:
Agriculture: 3.4%
Industry: 31.3%
Services: 65.3%
South Africa's inflation rate
1993 – 11.7%
1995 – 8%
1997 – 8.7%
1999 – 6.9%
2001 – 6.6%
2003 – 6.8%
2005 – 3.9%
2007 – 6.5%
2008 - 8.8%
Fiscal year – 1 April to 31 March
Debt external: $39,69 million
Industrial production growth rate: 3.8%
Population – 47.8 million
79.5% Black
8.9% Coloured
9.2% White
2.5% Asian
Ranked in terms of GDP – 32nd in the world
Population under poverty line – 50%
Unemployment rate – 23%
Labour force by sector: agriculture – 30%, industry – 25%, services – 45%
Labour force – 18.2 million economically active
Electricity production - 228.3 billion kWh
Electricity consumption: 241.4 billion kWh
Electricity export: 13.4 billion kWh
Electricity import: 11.08 billion kWh
Oil - production: 217,400 bbl/day
Oil - consumption: 497,000 bbl/day
Oil – reserve: 7.84 million bbl
Natural gas - production: 2.11 billion m3
Natural gas - consumption: 2.11 billion m3
Natural gas – reserve: 27.16 billion ΠΌ3
Export: $41.97 billion
Export commodities: gold, diamonds, platinum, other minerals and materials, machines and equipment
Export partners:
USA 10.2%
UK 9.2%
Japan 9%
Germany 7.1%
Netherlands 4%
Import: $39.42 billion
Import commodities: machines and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, science equipment, foodstuff.
Import partners:
Germany 14.2%
USA 8.5%
China 7.5%
Japan 6.9%
UK 6.9%
France 6%
OAE 5.6%
Iran 5%
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