Economy Of South Africa - South Africa Information

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Economy Of South Africa
South Africa Information - Country Guides

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 - $456.7 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $10,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3.8% industry: 31% services: 65.2% (2004 est.)
Investment gross fixed	16% of GDP (2004 est.)
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	5.9% (2004 est.)
Labor force	16.35 million economically active (2004 est.)
Labor force by occupation	agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate	31% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $37.48 billion expenditures: $41.46 billion, including capital expenditures of $na billion (2004 est.)
Public debt	38.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture products	corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; beef, poultry, mutton, wool, dairy products
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	5% (2004 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 (1 January 2002)
Natural gas production	1.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas consumption	1.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas exports	0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas imports	0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas proved reserves	14.16 million cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance	$-1.234 billion (2004 est.)
Exports	$36.77 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports commodities	gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment (1998 est.)
Exports partners	UK 12.6%, US 12.4%, Japan 9.2%, Germany 8.1%, China 4.7%, Italy 4.4% (2003)
Imports	$33.89 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs (2000 est.)
Imports partners	Germany 16.6%, UK 8.5%, US 8.2%, Japan 5.9%, China 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, France 5% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange gold	$7.972 billion (2004 est.)
Debt external	$25.9 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid recipient	$487.5 million (2000)
Currency	rand (ZAR)
Currency code	ZAR
Exchange rates	rand per US dollar - 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (2000), 6.1095 (1999)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March

South Flag Map Of South Africa Afrikaans language Northern Ndebele language Sesotho language Tsonga language

Economy Of South AfricaSouth Africa Information - Country Guides

Economy Of South Africa
South Africa Information - Country Guides