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General profile: South Africa

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR 2022
Exchange rate
Population
Population
Exchange rates
GDP
GDP
59.894 Millions
16.356 ZAR/US$
405 691 Millions current US$
Land area¹
Land area
CPI growth (%)
CPI growth
GDP growth
GDP growth
(q) 1 213 090 km²
6.87 %
2.00 %
INTERNATIONAL MERCHANDISE TRADE
More data on UNCTADstat
-0.5 %
Merchandise exports growth rate in 2022
Total merchandise trade
(millions of US$)
2005
2010
2015
2022
Merchandise exports
51 626
91 347
81 002
122 901
Merchandise imports
62 304
96 835
(e) 104 651
(e) 136 208
Merchandise trade balance
-10 679
-5 488
(e) -23 649
(e) -13 307
Export structure by product group in 2022
(as % of total exports)
13 %13 %32 %32 %13 %13 %33 %33 %9 %9 %
Top 5 partners in 2022
(exports, millions of US$)
18 50710 6529 3107 7766 36818 50710 6529 3107 7766 368
INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES
More data on UNCTADstat
Total trade in services²
(millions of US$)
2005
2010
2015
2022
Services exports
11 829
16 194
15 556
12 594
Services imports
12 151
19 406
15 722
18 097
Services trade balance
-322
-3 212
-166
-5 503
Services exports by main category²
(as % of total services)
2005
2010
2015
2022
Transport
17.1
19.2
16.0
12.7
Travel
63.5
56.1
53.1
37.6
Other services
19.2
24.5
30.6
49.3
TRADE INDICES
More data on UNCTADstat
133116111109109102100949292958768817566615753545250128123112106109104100989910410510195898785807977777372
ECONOMIC TRENDS
More data on UNCTADstat
+2.0 %
Gross domestic product growth rate in 2022
Economic indicators
(millions of US$ unless otherwise specified)
2005
2010
2015
2022
GDP, current
288 867
417 364
346 486
405 691
GDP per capita, current US$
5 893
8 060
6 201
6 773
Real GDP growth, y-on-y, %
5.28
3.04
1.32
2.00
Current account balance, % of GDP
-2.77
-1.30
-4.31
-0.44
Exchange rate (/US$)
6.359
7.321
12.759
16.356
GDP by expenditure in 2021
(as % of total GDP)
61.719.612.831.225.061.719.612.831.225.0
FDI AND EXTERNAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES
More data on UNCTADstat
+0.6 %
FDI outflows as % of GDP in 2022
Financial flows
(millions of US$ unless otherwise specified)
2005
2010
2015
2022
FDI inflows
(j) 6 646.93
(j) 3 635.60
(j) 1 729.38
(j) 9 051.19
FDI outflows
(j) 930.29
(j) -75.67
(j) 5 743.59
(j) 2 571.43
Personal remittances, % of GDP
0.21
0.26
0.24
0.22
Financial flows trends
(millions of US$)
872.9926.7810.9890.1929.0873.9755.4825.3913.4970.71 084.51 158.41 069.6862.1783.7792.4691.9613.6468.1390.8268.2281.6324.79 05140 9483 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
2022
Balance, % of GDP
-0.22
1.15
-1.30
1.98
Balance, % of imports
-0.93
4.68
-4.47
6.30
Normalized balance
-0.005
0.023
-0.023
0.031
Trade openness²
(sum of imports and exports as % of GDP)
655651545554565759595655505066575447
LIVING AREA
Population by living area in 2022
(% of population)
Urban
68%Urban 68%Rural
32%Rural 32%
OTHER INDICATORS
More data on UNCTADstat
0.025 %
Share of the total world merchant fleet in 2022
Maritime transport indicators
 
2005
2010
2015
2022
Merchant fleet, national flag (thousands of DWT)
104
126
74
554
Liner shipping connectivity index (maximum 2006 = 100 for China)
..
32.43
38.15
39.32
Container port throughput (TEU)
..
3 985 535
4 662 479
4 053 350
Information economy indicators
(as % of)
2005
2010
2015
2022
Share of ICT goods, % of total exports
1.25
1.20
1.42
0.71
Share of ICT goods, % of total imports
11.09
9.25
8.93
6.76
Share of workforce involved in the ICT sector
..
..
..
..
Source: UNCTADstat (http://unctadstat.unctad.org)
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.
j
Asset/liability basis.
q
Estimated. Data refers to 2020.
Symbols for missing values:
0
Zero means that the amount is nil or negligible
..
Not available or not separately reported
_
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 UNCTADstat 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 UNCTADstat.
Generation date: 21 December 2023