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General profile: South Africa

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR 2023
Exchange rate
Population
Population
Exchange rates
GDP
GDP
63.212 Millions
..
377 952 Millions current US$
Land area¹
Land area
CPI growth (%)
CPI growth
GDP growth
GDP growth
(q) 1 213 090 km²
5.90 %
0.60 %
INTERNATIONAL MERCHANDISE TRADE
More data on UNCTADstat
-9.8 %
Merchandise exports growth rate in 2023
Total merchandise trade
(millions of US$)
2005
2010
2015
2023
Merchandise exports
51 626
91 347
81 002
110 855
Merchandise imports
62 304
96 835
(e) 104 651
(e) 130 747
Merchandise trade balance
-10 679
-5 488
(e) -23 649
(e) -19 892
Export structure by product group in 2023
(as % of total exports)
10 %10 %39 %39 %11 %11 %29 %29 %12 %12 %
Top 5 partners in 2023
(exports, millions of US$)
12 4828 3207 4876 1825 74812 4828 3207 4876 1825 748
INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES
More data on UNCTADstat
Total trade in services²
(millions of US$)
2005
2010
2015
2023
Services exports
11 829
16 194
15 556
14 188
Services imports
12 151
19 406
15 722
18 556
Services trade balance
-322
-3 212
-166
-4 368
Services exports by main category²
(as % of total services)
2005
2010
2015
2023
Transport
17.1
19.2
16.0
11.8
Travel
63.5
56.1
53.1
40.0
Other services
19.2
24.5
30.6
47.7
TRADE INDICES
More data on UNCTADstat
109127136116111109109102100949292958768817566112118129123112106109104100989910410510195898785
ECONOMIC TRENDS
More data on UNCTADstat
+0.6 %
Gross domestic product growth rate in 2023
Economic indicators
(millions of US$ unless otherwise specified)
2005
2010
2015
2023
GDP, current
288 867
417 364
346 486
377 952
GDP per capita, current US$
5 837
7 973
6 108
5 979
Real GDP growth, y-on-y, %
5.28
3.04
1.32
0.60
Current account balance, % of GDP
-2.77
-1.30
-4.31
-1.63
Exchange rate (/US$)
6.359
7.321
12.759
..
GDP by expenditure in 2022
(as % of total GDP)
63.519.115.433.531.563.519.115.433.531.5
FDI AND EXTERNAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES
More data on UNCTADstat
-0.7 %
FDI outflows as % of GDP in 2023
Financial flows
(millions of US$ unless otherwise specified)
2005
2010
2015
2023
FDI inflows
6 646.93
(k) 3 635.60
(k) 1 729.38
(k) 5 232.83
FDI outflows
(k) 930.29
(k) -75.67
(k) 5 743.59
(k) -2 811.29
Personal remittances, % of GDP
0.21
0.26
0.24
..
Financial flows trends
(millions of US$)
872.9926.7810.9890.1929.0873.9755.4825.3913.4970.71 084.51 158.41 069.6862.1783.7792.4691.9613.6468.1390.8268.2281.6324.75 2339 23140 2153 0625 1255 4502 0082 2351 7295 7718 3004 5594 2433 6367 5029 2096 5383116 6477987341 5696 784887FDI Inwards flowsFDI Inwards flowsFDI Inwards flowsMigrant's remittances receiptsMigrant's remittances receiptsMigrant's remittances receipts
TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES
More data on UNCTADstat
Trade balance indicators²
(as % and index)
2005
2010
2015
2023
Balance, % of GDP
-0.22
1.15
-1.30
0.33
Balance, % of imports
-0.93
4.68
-4.47
1.00
Normalized balance
-0.005
0.023
-0.023
0.005
Trade openness²
(sum of imports and exports as % of GDP)
66655651545554565759595655505066575447
LIVING AREA
Population by living area in 2023
(% of population)
Urban 69%Urban 69%Rural 31%Rural 31%
OTHER INDICATORS
More data on UNCTADstat
0.024 %
Share of the total world merchant fleet in 2023
Maritime transport indicators
 
2005
2010
2015
2023
Merchant fleet, national flag (thousands of DWT)
104
126
74
546
Container port throughput (TEU)
..
3 985 535
4 662 479
..
Information economy indicators
(as % of)
2005
2010
2015
2023
Share of ICT goods, % of total exports
1.25
1.20
1.42
..
Share of ICT goods, % of total imports
11.09
9.25
8.93
..
Share of workforce involved in the ICT sector
..
..
..
..
Source: UN Trade and Development, UNCTADstat (https://unctadstat.unctad.org/datacentre)
Notes:
1
Land area refers to the total area of a country excluding area under inland water bodies. It differs from the country area, that includes area under inland water bodies, but excludes offshore territorial waters.
2
Statistics presented correspond to the 6th edition of the IMF Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6, 2009).
e
Estimated.
k
Asset/liability basis.
q
Estimated. Data refers to 2020.
Symbols for missing values:
0
Zero means that the amount is nil or negligible
..
No value reported or collected
_
Not applicable
...
Not available, including no quotation
#
Non-relevant calculation
-
Not publishable
***
Negative accumulation of flows; Value included in regional and global totals
Abbreviations & acronyms:
DWT:
Dead weight tons
FDI:
Foreign direct investment
GDP:
Gross domestic product
ICT:
Information and communication technology
TEU:
Twenty foot equivalent unit
US$:
United States dollar
Disclaimer:
The designations employed and the presentation of the material on the UNCTAD Data Hub do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Where the designations "economy" or "country or area" appear in texts or tables, they cover regions, countries, territories, cities or areas.

UNCTAD strives for the highest level of accuracy and is committed to promptly correcting any errors on its part. It does not guarantee or make any express or implied representations regarding the accuracy, reliability, correctness, fitness for use for a particular purpose, or otherwise, whatsoever, of any of the tables in the UNCTAD Data Hub.
Generation date: 11 October 2024