Economy - overview:
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 centers 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. High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates also deter investment. 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.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $432 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 28.9%
services: 66.7% (2001)
Population below poverty line:
50% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 45.9% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
59.3 (1993-94)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.9% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
17 million economically active
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
37% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2001 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $22.6 billion
expenditures: $24.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion (FY02/03)
Industries:
mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs
Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
195.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 93.5%
hydro: 1.1%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 5.5%
Electricity - consumption:
181.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
6.91 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
6.2 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
196,200 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
460,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
7.84 million bbl (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
14.16 million cu m (January 2002 est.)
Agriculture - products:
corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
Exports:
$31.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.)
Exports - partners:
EU 37.9% (UK 12.9%, Germany 9.20%, Italy 6.4%), US 13.0%, Japan 6.9% (2001)
Imports:
$26.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.)
Imports - partners:
EU 43.5% (Germany 15.2%, UK 8.6%), US 11.4%, Japan 5.8% (2001)
Debt - external:
$24.7 billion (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$487.5 million (2000)
Currency:
rand (ZAR)
Currency code:
ZAR
Exchange rates:
rand per US dollar - 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999), 5.5283 (1998)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
NOTE: The information regarding South Africa on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Africa Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
