South Africa

Economic overview and key indicators for South Africa, from the World Bank and the IMF, with downloadable data.

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Economic overview

At a glance

Region: Southern Africa
Income group: Upper middle income
Capital: Pretoria
Population: 64.7m (2025)
GDP: $427.2bn (2025)
GDP per person: $6,598 (2025)
Real growth: 1.1% (2025)
Inflation: 3.2% (2025)

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GDP and growth

GDP $427.2bn US$ · 2025 World Bank WDI · NY.GDP.MKTP.CD

GDP growth 1.1% % · 2025 World Bank WDI · NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG

GDP per capita $6,598 US$ · 2025 World Bank WDI · NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

Inflation

Inflation (consumer prices) 3.2% % · 2025 World Bank WDI · FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG

Exchange rates

Official exchange rate (per US$) 17.89 LCU per US$ · 2025 World Bank WDI · PA.NUS.FCRF

Interest rates

Lending interest rate 10.7% % · 2025 World Bank WDI · FR.INR.LEND

Real interest rate 7.7% % · 2025 World Bank WDI · FR.INR.RINR

Government revenue and expenditure

Government revenue — % of GDP · not available IMF World Economic Outlook · GGR_NGDP

Government expenditure — % of GDP · not available IMF World Economic Outlook · GGX_NGDP

Tax revenue (central government) 25.9% % of GDP · 2024 World Bank WDI · GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS

Public debt

Government gross debt 78.0% % of GDP · 2026 IMF World Economic Outlook · GGXWDG_NGDP

External debt stocks $175.9bn US$ · 2024 World Bank WDI · DT.DOD.DECT.CD

External trade

Exports of goods and services $134.2bn US$ · 2025 World Bank WDI · NE.EXP.GNFS.CD

Imports of goods and services $126.0bn US$ · 2025 World Bank WDI · NE.IMP.GNFS.CD

Trade (exports plus imports) 60.9% % of GDP · 2025 World Bank WDI · NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS

Total reserves (incl. gold) $76.0bn US$ · 2025 World Bank WDI · FI.RES.TOTL.CD

Investment

Foreign direct investment, net inflows -0.5% % of GDP · 2025 World Bank WDI · BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS

Labour market

Unemployment (ILO estimate) 32.4% % · 2025 World Bank WDI · SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS

Labour force participation 55.6% % of population 15+ · 2025 World Bank WDI · SL.TLF.CACT.ZS

Population 64.7m people · 2025 World Bank WDI · SP.POP.TOTL

Urban population 63.8% % of total · 2025 World Bank WDI · SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS

Industries

Agriculture 2.8% % of GDP · 2025 World Bank WDI · NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS

Industry 24.1% % of GDP · 2025 World Bank WDI · NV.IND.TOTL.ZS

Services 63.1% % of GDP · 2025 World Bank WDI · NV.SRV.TOTL.ZS

Downloadable datasets

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Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators and IMF World Economic Outlook, refreshed weekly. International figures can differ from national releases and lag them by a year or more. Methodology.