AFRICA · COUNTRY REFERENCE
South Africa
Written and compiled by American Business Capital Group Inc.
Selected country or entityMap: Natural Earth ↗
ANNUAL ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Population & economic scale
The most recent non-empty observations returned by the World Bank when this snapshot was collected. Read the year on each card: these are annual statistics, not live measurements.
World Bank reporting entity: South Africa · 3 of 3 indicators available.
Population
64,747,319
people
observation
Definition, value & source
Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.
Received value: 64747319 people. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wpp/, publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), uri: https://unstats.un.org/home/nso_sites/, publisher: National Statistical Offices; Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT), uri: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code=earn_ses_monthly, publisher: Eurostat; Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), United Nations (UN), uri: https://unstats.un.org, publisher: UN Statistics Division
GDP
$427.18 billion
current US$
observation
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 427184325997.307 current US$. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP per capita
$6,598
current US$ per person
observation
Definition, value & source
Gross domestic product is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. It can be measured in three different ways: using either the expenditure approach, the income approach, or the production approach. The core indicator has been divided by the general population to achieve a per capita estimate.This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Received value: 6597.71450918774 current US$ per person. The main card rounds for readability.
- Collected
- Oct 7, 2026
- Dataset update reported by API
- Jul 13, 2026; separate from the observation year
World Bank indicator ↗ · API record ↗
World Bank, World Development Indicators. CC BY 4.0. Underlying sources: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB)
GDP and GDP per capita use current US dollars, without an inflation or purchasing-power-parity adjustment. Source years can differ. Missing data is not zero; earlier archive figures below are retained as a separate historical reference.
THE REFERENCE FILE
South Africa at a glance
These are historical reference facts from the 2025 World Factbook archive. Each estimate keeps its own period; an archive edition does not make every figure a measurement from that year.
Population
total: 61,089,926 (2025 est.) male: 29,989,969 female: 31,099,957
Area
total : 1,219,090 sq km land: 1,214,470 sq km water: 4,620 sq km note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$870.42 billion (2024 est.) $865.402 billion (2023 est.) $859.399 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$400.261 billion (2024 est.) note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate
Real GDP growth rate
0.6% (2024 est.) 0.7% (2023 est.) 1.9% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Real GDP per capita
$13,600 (2024 est.) $13,700 (2023 est.) $13,800 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4.4% (2024 est.) 6.1% (2023 est.) 7% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Unemployment rate
33.2% (2024 est.) 32.1% (2023 est.) 33.3% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment
Labor force
27.766 million (2024 est.) note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
Public debt
76.2% of GDP (2022 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP
Budget
revenues: $123.263 billion (2022 est.) expenditures: $137.593 billion (2022 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
Current account balance
-$2.384 billion (2024 est.) -$6.143 billion (2023 est.) -$1.878 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Exports
$127.629 billion (2024 est.) $124.671 billion (2023 est.) $136.01 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Imports
$119.59 billion (2024 est.) $123.454 billion (2023 est.) $127.669 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$65.435 billion (2024 est.) $62.492 billion (2023 est.) $60.553 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Debt - external
$93.879 billion (2023 est.) note: present value of external debt in current US dollars
Electricity access
electrification - total population: 86.5% (2022 est.) electrification - urban areas: 87.1% electrification - rural areas: 93.4%
Internet users
percent of population: 76% (2023 est.)
THE HISTORICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY
Explore the country in detail
Browse the economy, population, resources and infrastructure. These archived descriptions keep their original wording and dates; they have not been updated to describe current conditions.
32 of 32 sections
Location
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Capital
name: Pretoria (administrative capital); Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital) geographic coordinates: 25 42 S, 28 13 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: Pretoria was named in honor of Boer statesman Andries PRETORIUS in 1855; Cape Town's name refers to its location on the Cape of Good Hope; Bloemfontein was named after the farm on which it was built in 1846, whose name combined the Dutch words bloem (flower) and fontein (fountain)
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Economic overview
upper-middle-income, largest southern African economy; Government of National Unity facing slow growth, fiscal gaps, and structural challenges; high income inequality, unemployment, and poverty; reforms to address electricity generation, transport, and logistics; leading producer and exporter of critical minerals
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural resources
gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas note: South Africa was the World's leading chromite ore producer in 2022 with an output of 18,000 mt
2022 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Agricultural products
sugarcane, maize, milk, soybeans, potatoes, wheat, grapes, chicken, oranges, apples (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Industries
mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - partners
China 19%, USA 8%, Germany 7%, India 7%, UK 6% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Exports - commodities
gold, platinum, coal, cars, iron ore (2023) note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - partners
China 21%, India 7%, USA 7%, Germany 6%, UAE 4% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Imports - commodities
refined petroleum, crude petroleum, gold, cars, broadcasting equipment (2023) note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
2023 source periods; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Climate
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Terrain
vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Land use
agricultural land: 79.4% (2023 est.) arable land: 9.9% (2023 est.) permanent crops: 0.3% (2023 est.) permanent pasture: 69.2% (2023 est.) forest: 18.7% (2023 est.) other: 1.9% (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural hazards
prolonged droughts volcanism: the volcano that formed Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands is South Africa's only active volcano
archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Languages
isiZulu or Zulu (official) 25.3%, isiXhosa or Xhosa (official) 14.8%, Afrikaans (official) 12.2%, Sepedi or Pedi (official) 10.1%, Setswana or Tswana (official) 9.1%, English (official) 8.1%, Sesotho or Sotho (official) 7.9%, Xitsonga or Tsonga (official) 3.6%, siSwati or Swati (official) 2.8%, Tshivenda or Venda (official) 2.5%, isiNdebele or Ndebele (official) 1.6%, other (includes South African sign language (official) and Khoi or Khoisan or Khoe languages) 2% (2018 est.) major-language sample(s): Die Wereld Feite Boek, n onontbeerlike bron vir basiese informasie. (Afrikaans) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English) note: data represent language spoken most often at home
2018 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Religions
Christian 86%, ancestral, tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions 5.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 1.5%, nothing in particular 5.2% (2015 est.)
2015 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Age structure
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 8,227,690/female 8,194,392) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 19,524,873/female 19,947,839) 65 years and over: 7.5% (2024 est.) (male 1,911,825/female 2,636,028)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Urbanization
urban population: 68.8% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
2023, 2020 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.9 years (2024 est.) male: 70.3 years female: 73.5 years
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Literacy
total population: 91.2% (2024 est.) male: 91.5% (2024 est.) female: 90.8% (2024 est.)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity
installed generating capacity: 65.989 million kW (2023 est.) consumption: 194.978 billion kWh (2023 est.) exports: 12.629 billion kWh (2023 est.) imports: 10.837 billion kWh (2023 est.) transmission/distribution losses: 22.838 billion kWh (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Electricity generation sources
fossil fuels: 87.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) nuclear: 3.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) solar: 2.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) wind: 5.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) hydroelectricity: 0.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) biomass and waste: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Petroleum
total petroleum production: 88,000 bbl/day (2023 est.) refined petroleum consumption: 609,000 bbl/day (2023 est.) crude oil estimated reserves: 15 million barrels (2021 est.)
2023, 2021 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Natural gas
production: 66.094 million cubic meters (2023 est.) consumption: 3.834 billion cubic meters (2023 est.) imports: 3.768 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Carbon dioxide emissions
446.704 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from coal and metallurgical coke: 365.269 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from petroleum and other liquids: 73.913 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.) from consumed natural gas: 7.522 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 115 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 167 (2024 est.)
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 2.15 million (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2023 est.)
2023 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Airports
573 (2025)
2025 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Railways
total: 30,400 km (2021) standard gauge: 80 km (2021) 1.435-m gauge (80 km electrified) narrow gauge: 19,756 km (2014) 1.065-m gauge (8,271 km electrified)
2021, 2014 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Ports
total ports: 8 (2024) large: 2 medium: 4 small: 1 very small: 1 ports with oil terminals: 7 key ports: Cape Town, Durban, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
agriculture: 2.9% (2024 est.) industry: 24.4% (2024 est.) services: 62.7% (2024 est.) note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data
2024 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
Remittances
0.2% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.2% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.2% of GDP (2022 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
2024, 2023, 2022 dates in source text; archive edition 2025 · Archive source ↗
CURRENCY OBSERVATIONS
Money & exchange rates
The latest verified daily references are separate from the historical country profile. Values are currency units per US$1.
Rand
ZAR per US$1
Published reference snapshot; its original observation date is preserved.
1 ZAR = US$0.06031436
15.9603–16.643 ZAR per US$1 across the displayed observations. The vertical scale follows this range.
View dated observations
| Observation date | ZAR per US$1 |
|---|---|
| Oct 6, 2026 | 16.5798 |
| Oct 5, 2026 | 16.6394 |
| Oct 4, 2026 | 16.643 |
| Oct 3, 2026 | 16.6316 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | 16.613 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | 16.4744 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 16.3715 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | 16.3855 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | 16.3441 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 16.3162 |
| Sep 26, 2026 | 16.3208 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 16.3273 |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 16.362 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 16.2602 |
| Sep 22, 2026 | 16.219 |
| Sep 21, 2026 | 16.2314 |
| Sep 20, 2026 | 16.2409 |
| Sep 19, 2026 | 16.2402 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | 16.2412 |
| Sep 17, 2026 | 16.2491 |
| Sep 16, 2026 | 16.2394 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | 16.2499 |
| Sep 14, 2026 | 16.1866 |
| Sep 13, 2026 | 16.1205 |
| Sep 12, 2026 | 16.1183 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 16.1133 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | 16.0687 |
| Sep 9, 2026 | 16.0015 |
| Sep 8, 2026 | 15.9889 |
| Sep 7, 2026 | 15.9603 |
Daily references are not live execution prices. A check time does not change a source observation date.
CAPITAL MARKETS
Stock exchanges
Exchange directory coverage is curated and does not establish that an entity has no other trading venues.
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Official data & country reports
Research directories have their own coverage. A link is not a claim that every entity has an IMF report or a separate national statistical office.
SOURCES & DATES
Where the facts come from.
Editorial presentation by American Business Capital Group Inc. The organizations and archive links below are the underlying sources.
- Country reference
- CIA World Factbook · 2025 archive
- Archive retrieved
- Oct 6, 2026 · retrieval date, not an observation period
- Currency associations
- SIX / ISO 4217 currency registry ↗
- Rate observations
- Frankfurter / official reference providers ↗ · each observation is dated separately
- State classification
- UN member states ↗ · UN observer states ↗
- UN membership is shown separately from territory and currency coverage; inclusion is not a position on sovereignty or boundaries.
- CIA World Factbook text preserved by World Factbook Archive. Archive edition 2025; individual estimates retain their own dates. These are historical reference facts, not current observations.
About the editions. The CIA announced the end of its online World Factbook on February 4, 2026. Our historical profiles retain the archive editions shown above.
Skyhorse lists The CIA World Factbook 2026–2027, published April 7, 2026 (ISBN 9781510786042). That book’s full text has not been incorporated here; its edition title does not redate the imported archive. Archive distribution license.
Geography is a simplified reference. Displayed boundaries and entity inclusion do not express a position on sovereignty or disputed borders.