International Rankings of South Africa 2021, country comparisons

This table lists the international rankings of South Africa, in all categories that are published in the CIA World Factbook, and those that we derived from them. Additional international rankings of South Africa, can be found in the main country ranks menu.
For a definition of each entry, visit the Definitions page.

Ranked Data	Rank	Value	Year
Communications
Broadband - fixed subscriptions - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	137	2.24	2019
Broadband - fixed subscriptions - total	68	1.250 million	0
Internet users - percent of population	125	56.17 %	2018
Internet users - total	26	31.107 million	0
Telephones - fixed lines - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	162	3.62	2019
Telephones - fixed lines - total subscriptions	56	2.025 million	0
Telephones - mobile cellular - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	13	173.5	2019
Telephones - mobile cellular - total subscriptions	18	96.972 million	0
Economy
Budget - expenditures	32	108.300 billion US Dollars	2017
Budget - revenues	34	92.860 billion US Dollars	2017
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)	71	4.4 % of GDP	0
Ease of Doing Business Index scores - Enforcement score	77	56.9	2020
Ease of Doing Business Index scores - Overall score	63	67	2020
Ease of Doing Business Index scores - Starting a Business score	87	81.2	2020
Ease of Doing Business Index scores - Trading score	114	59.6	2020
GDP (official exchange rate)	40	350.032 billion US Dollars	2019
GDP - composition by end use - exports of goods and services	113	29.8 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - government consumption	44	20.9 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - household consumption	112	59.4 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - imports of goods and services	40	28.4 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - investment in fixed capital	94	18.7 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - investment in inventories	56	0.1 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - agriculture	123	2.8 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - industry	66	29.7 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - services	64	67.5 % of GDP	2017
Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10%	2	51.3 % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population	2011
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%	39	1.2 % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population	0
Industrial production growth rate	75	1.2 %	2017
Labor force	37	14.687 million US Dollars	2020
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture	116	4.6 %	0
Labor force - by occupation - industry	46	23.5 %	0
Labor force - by occupation - services	43	71.9 %	2014
Population below poverty line	13	55.5	2014
Public debt	61	N/A % of GDP	2021
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)	33	730.913 billion US Dollars	2019
Real GDP per capita	102	12482 US Dollars	2019
Taxes and other revenues	89	26.6 % of GDP	0
Energy
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy	12	572.300 million	2017
Crude oil - exports	82	0	2015
Crude oil - imports	23	404000	2015
Crude oil - production	79	1600	2018
Crude oil - proved reserves	78	15.000 million	2018
Electricity - consumption	22	207.100 billion kWh	2016
Electricity - exports	12	16.550 billion kWh	2016
Electricity - from fossil fuels	14	85	2016
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants	68	1	2017
Electricity - from nuclear fuels	16	4	2017
Electricity - from other renewable sources	31	10	2017
Electricity - imports	25	10.560 billion kWh	2016
Electricity - installed generating capacity	22	50.020 million kWh	2016
Electricity - production	22	234.500 billion	2016
Natural gas - consumption	59	5.069 billion cubic meters	2017
Natural gas - exports	56	0 cubic meters	2017
Natural gas - imports	39	4.162 billion cubic meters	2017
Natural gas - production	67	906.100 million cubic meters	2017
Natural gas - proved reserves	94	0	2012
Refined petroleum products - consumption	33	621000	2016
Refined petroleum products - exports	42	105600 bbl/day	2015
Refined petroleum products - imports	35	195200 bbl/day	2015
Refined petroleum products - production	34	487100 bbl/day	2015
Environment
Air pollutants - carbon dioxide emissions	13	476.64 megatons	2016
Air pollutants - methane emissions	30	55.89 megatons	2020
Air pollutants - particulate matter emissions	76	23.58 micrograms per cubic meter	2016
Land use - agricultural land	6	79.4	2018
Land use - arable land	95	9.9	2018
Land use - forest	151	7.6	2018
Land use - other	147	13	2018
Land use - permanent crops	82	0.3	2018
Land use - permanent pasture	8	69.2	2018
Revenue from coal	3	2.4 % of GDP	2018
Revenue from forest resources	96	N/A % of GDP	2021
Total renewable water resources	90	51.350 billion	2017
Total water withdrawal - agricultural	34	11.390 billion cubic meters	2017
Total water withdrawal - industrial	22	4.100 billion cubic meters	2017
Total water withdrawal - municipal	24	3.890 billion cubic meters	2017
Urbanization - rate of urbanization	76	1.72	2025
Urbanization - urban population	81	67.8	2021
Waste and recycling - municipal solid waste generated annually	17	18.457 million tons	2011
Waste and recycling - municipal solid waste recycled annually	10	5.168 million tons	2011
Waste and recycling - percent of municipal solid waste recycled	23	28 %	2011
Geography
Area - land	28	1.214 million sq km	0
Area - total	28	1.219 million sq km	0
Area - water	141	4620 sq km	0
Coastline	44	2798 km	0
Elevation - highest point	201	N/A meters	0
Elevation - lowest point	34	0 meters	0
Elevation - mean elevation	29	1034 meters	0
Irrigated land	31	16700 sq km	2012
Land boundaries - total	34	5244 km	0
Land use - agricultural land	6	79.4	2018
Land use - arable land	95	9.9	2018
Land use - forest	151	7.6	2018
Land use - other	147	13	2018
Land use - permanent crops	82	0.3	2018
Land use - permanent pasture	8	69.2	2018
Total renewable water resources	89	51.350 billion	2017
Population
Age structure - 15-24 years	82	16.8 %	4337
Age structure - 25-54 years	67	42.37 %	5193
Age structure - 55-64 years	135	6.8 %	6988
Birth rate	72	18.89 births/1,000 population	2021
Contraceptive prevalence rate	64	54.6 %	2016
Current Health Expenditure	29	8.3 % of GDP	2018
Death rate	46	9.27 deaths/1,000 population	2021
Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio	94	8.4 %	0
Dependency ratios - potential support ratio	61	11.9 %	2020
Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio	99	52.2 %	0
Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio	74	43.8 %	0
Drinking water source - improved	9	98.9 % of population	0
Drinking water source - rural	58	12.6 % of population	0
Drinking water source - total	73	4.5 % of population	2017
Drinking water source - unimproved	61	1.1 % of population	0
Education expenditures	15	6.5 % of GDP	2019
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate	4	19.1	2020
HIV/AIDS - deaths	2	83000	2020
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS	2	7.800 million	2020
Hospital bed density	46	2.3 beds/1,000 population	2010
Infant mortality rate - female	62	23.68 deaths/1,000 live births	2021
Infant mortality rate - male	64	29.9 deaths/1,000 live births	0
Infant mortality rate - total	62	26.82 deaths/1,000 live births	0
Life expectancy at birth - female	174	66.42 years	2021
Life expectancy at birth - male	173	63.68 years	0
Life expectancy at birth - total population	174	65.04 years	0
Maternal mortality rate	60	119	2017
Median age - female	103	28.1 years	2020
Median age - male	94	27.9 years	0
Median age - total	96	28 years	0
Mother's mean age at first birth	82	N/A	2021
Net migration rate	79	0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population	0
Obesity - adult prevalence rate	28	28.3 %	2016
Physicians density	107	0.91 physicians/1,000 population	2017
Population	25	56.979 million	2021
Population growth rate	89	0.95 %	2021
Sanitation facility access - improved	33	95.6 % of population	0
Sanitation facility access - rural	73	19.1 % of population	0
Sanitation facility access - total	69	9.4 % of population	2017
Sanitation facility access - unimproved	74	4.4 % of population	0
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female	8	14 years	2018
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male	8	13 years	0
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total	8	14 years	0
Sex ratio - 0-14 years	15	1 male(s)/female	0
Sex ratio - 15-24 years	27	0.97	0
Sex ratio - 25-54 years	23	1.02	0
Sex ratio - 55-64 years	35	0.87	0
Sex ratio - 65 years and over	39	0.72 male(s)/female	0
Sex ratio - at birth	12	1.02 male(s)/female	0
Sex ratio - total population	19	0.98 male(s)/female	0
Total fertility rate	74	2.2 children born/woman	2021
Unemployment youth ages 15-24 - female	9	61.7	2019
Unemployment youth ages 15-24 - male	3	53.2	0
Unemployment youth ages 15-24 - total	2	57	0
Urbanization - rate of urbanization	76	1.72	2025
Urbanization - urban population	81	67.8	2021
Transportation
Airports	20	407	2020
Airports - with paved runways - 1524 to 2437 m	15	46	0
Airports - with paved runways - 2438 to 3047 m	33	6	0
Airports - with paved runways - 914 to 1523 m	13	60	0
Airports - with paved runways - over 3047 m	16	11	0
Airports - with paved runways - total	17	130	2020
Airports - with paved runways - under 914 m	28	7	0
Airports - with unpaved runways - 1524 to 2437 m	15	19	0
Airports - with unpaved runways - 914 to 1523 m	8	178	0
Airports - with unpaved runways - total	15	277	2020
Airports - with unpaved runways - under 914 m	23	79	0
Heliports	26	N/A	2021
National air transport system - annual freight traffic on registered air carriers	11	716.250 million	2018
National air transport system - annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers	33	23.922 million	2018
National air transport system - inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers	24	243	0
National air transport system - number of registered air carriers	11	17	2020
Railways - total	12	20986 km	2014
Roadways - paved	18	158124 km	2016
Roadways - total	9	750000 km	2016
Waterways	95	N/A km	2021

*CALCULATED FIGURES are those that we calculated from data presented by the CIA World Factbook. For example, we calculated population density by dividing the total population by the land area, the electricity consumption per capita by dividing electricity consumption by the total population, etc.

NOTE: The information regarding South Africa on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of South Africa 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about South Africa 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.