Sub-Saharan Africa · Upper-middle income
South Africa: key statistics
South Africa has 64.7m people (2025) and a GDP per person of $6,598. Below: 80 indicators with the latest year, world rank and change over ten years.
- Capital
- Pretoria
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Income group
- Upper-middle income
- Currency
- rand ZAR
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans, Venda, Xhosa
- ISO codes
- ZAZAF
Population64.7m2025 · rank 24 of 217GDP$427bn2025 · rank 40 of 211GDP per capita$6,5982025 · rank 126 of 211Life expectancy66.3 yrs2024 · rank 183 of 217Internet users78.4%2024 · rank 105 of 188Fertility2.212024 · rank 94 of 217CO₂ per person6.88 t2024 · rank 36 of 203Inflation3.2%2025 · rank 89 of 180
topic profiles
South Africa, topic by topic
Each profile brings together the indicators of one topic with world and regional rank, values since 2000, group averages and a comparison with neighbours.
Population
South Africa
GDP per capita
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Life expectancy
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Internet users
South AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
all indicators
South Africa by topic
World rank counts countries with a value in the recent window; regional rank is within Sub-Saharan Africa.
PopulationFull population profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 64.7m | 2025 | 24/217 | 5/48 | +14% | 8.2bn | |
| Population growth | 1.15% | 2025 | 93/217 | 43/48 | −0.9 pp | 0.91% | |
| Urban share | 63.8% | 2025 | 111/217 | 9/48 | +0.6 pp | 57.8% | |
| Fertility | 2.21 | 2024 | 94/217 | 45/48 | −9.0% | 2.19 | |
| Aged 65+ | 6.9% | 2025 | 126/217 | 4/48 | +1.5 pp | 10.4% | |
| Aged 0–14 | 25.7% | 2025 | 91/217 | 45/48 | −2.6 pp | 24.4% | |
| Density | 52.8 | 2024 | 151/216 | 30/48 | +15% | 62.1 | |
| Birth rate | 18.5 | 2024 | 83/217 | 45/48 | −15% | 16.3 | |
| Area | 1,219,602 km² | 2024 | 24/216 | 7/48 | ±0.0% | 140,539,257 km² |
EconomyFull economy profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $427bn | 2025 | 40/211 | 1/46 | +23% | $118tn | |
| GDP per capita | $6,598 | 2025 | 126/211 | 6/46 | +7.9% | $14,406 | |
| GDP per capita, PPP | $15,906 | 2025 | 120/199 | 6/46 | +19% | $25,704 | |
| GNI per capita | $6,270 | 2025 | 116/201 | 5/46 | −2.8% | $14,244 | |
| GDP growth | 1.1% | 2025 | 169/210 | 42/46 | −0.2 pp | 2.9% | |
| GDP per capita growth | 0.0% | 2025 | 177/210 | 39/46 | +0.7 pp | 2.0% | |
| Agriculture share | 2.8% | 2025 | 130/198 | 43/45 | +0.6 pp | 4.0% | |
| Industry share | 24.1% | 2025 | 95/201 | 25/45 | +0.4 pp | 25.0% | |
| Services share | 63.1% | 2025 | 68/201 | 6/45 | −1.0 pp | 63.3% | |
| Investment | 13.9% | 2025 | 160/175 | 35/43 | −4.8 pp | 26.3% | |
| Savings | 12.9% | 2025 | 135/163 | 29/39 | −1.4 pp | 26.0% |
Prices & public financeFull prices & public finance profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation | 3.2% | 2025 | 89/180 | 28/44 | −1.3 pp | 3.0% | |
| Real interest rate | 7.7% | 2025 | 38/136 | 13/36 | +4.0 pp | — | |
| Lending rate | 10.7% | 2025 | 54/136 | 22/36 | +1.3 pp | — | |
| Exchange rate | 17.89 | 2025 | 97/210 | 42/47 | +40% | — | |
| Government debt | 82.8% | 2024 | 13/78 | 1/15 | +43.1 pp | — | |
| Tax revenue | 25.9% | 2024 | 10/142 | 3/32 | +1.4 pp | 13.9% | |
| Government expense | 33.4% | 2022 | 42/142 | 3/32 | +3.1 pp | 28.5% | |
| External debt | 44.8% | 2024 | 58/119 | 21/43 | +4.7 pp | — | |
| Military spending | 0.74% | 2025 | 133/156 | 37/45 | −0.3 pp | 2.48% |
Trade & investmentFull trade & investment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 31.4% | 2025 | 110/184 | 19/43 | +3.7 pp | 29.5% | |
| Imports | 29.5% | 2025 | 135/184 | 24/43 | +0.5 pp | 28.5% | |
| Trade openness | 60.9% | 2025 | 127/184 | 21/43 | +4.2 pp | 68.5% | |
| Current account | -0.4% | 2025 | 80/185 | 13/42 | +3.9 pp | — | |
| FDI inflows | -0.5% | 2025 | 184/197 | 45/46 | −0.9 pp | 1.4% | |
| Remittances | 0.2% | 2025 | 150/178 | 39/41 | ±0.0 pp | 0.8% | |
| Tourist arrivals | 3.9m | 2020 | 45/196 | 2/42 | −66% | 2.4bn |
LabourFull labour profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 32.4% | 2025 | 2/187 | 2/47 | +7.2 pp | 4.8% | |
| Youth unemployment | 59.9% | 2025 | 2/187 | 1/47 | +9.8 pp | 13.4% | |
| Participation rate | 55.6% | 2025 | 137/187 | 37/47 | +1.0 pp | 61.0% | |
| Women's participation | 49.9% | 2025 | 119/187 | 34/47 | +2.2 pp | 48.9% |
Aid, poverty & equalityFull aid, poverty & equality profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net ODA received | $1.5bn | 2023 | 28/145 | 14/48 | +16% | $259bn | |
| ODA, % of GNI | 0.4% | 2023 | 111/139 | 44/47 | +0.1 pp | 0.2% | |
| ODA per person | $23.8 | 2023 | 111/145 | 44/48 | +0.6% | $32.2 | |
| Extreme poverty | 17.4% | 2022 | 39/151 | 35/44 | −10.4 pp | 10.1% | |
| Poverty, $4.20/day | 30.2% | 2022 | 40/151 | 36/44 | −11.0 pp | 18.2% | |
| National poverty rate | 37.9% | 2022 | 33/145 | 28/45 | −7.9 pp | — | |
| Gini index | 54.1 | 2022 | 5/151 | 4/44 | −11% | — | |
| Undernourishment | 11.2% | 2024 | 49/167 | 33/44 | +5.6 pp | 8.1% | |
| Women in parliament | 44.9% | 2025 | 16/190 | 2/46 | +2.9 pp | 27.2% |
EducationFull education profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 91.2% | 2024 | 80/141 | 4/41 | −3.0 pp | 87.7% | |
| Female literacy | 90.8% | 2024 | 83/147 | 5/41 | −2.2 pp | 84.6% | |
| Primary enrolment | 101.8% | 2023 | 79/191 | 17/41 | −2.3 pp | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolment | 104.1% | 2023 | 46/176 | 3/34 | +12.0 pp | 77.3% | |
| Tertiary enrolment | 23.5% | 2023 | 123/172 | 4/34 | +4.9 pp | 43.6% | |
| Primary completion | 95.3% | 2023 | 80/168 | 5/36 | +5.8 pp | 88.0% | |
| Pupils per teacher | 30.3 | 2015 | 37/173 | 29/40 | −3.4% | 23.4 | |
| Education spending | 6.0% | 2024 | 26/184 | 7/43 | +0.5 pp | 3.6% |
HealthFull health profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs | 2024 | 183/217 | 19/48 | +5.0% | 73.5 yrs | |
| Infant mortality | 24.2 | 2024 | 58/196 | 44/48 | −21% | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortality | 35.1 | 2024 | 53/196 | 41/48 | −12% | 37.4 | |
| Maternal mortality | 118 | 2023 | 61/194 | 42/48 | −34% | 197 | |
| Health spending | 8.9% | 2023 | 47/193 | 7/48 | +0.8 pp | 10.1% | |
| Health spending per person | $537 | 2023 | 85/193 | 3/48 | −9.6% | $1,317 | |
| Physicians | 0.79 | 2022 | 113/180 | 3/46 | +11% | 1.86 | |
| Measles vaccination | 76% | 2024 | 155/193 | 27/48 | −8.0 pp | 84% | |
| HIV prevalence | 17.2% | 2024 | 2/153 | 2/44 | −1.1 pp | 0.7% | |
| Child stunting | 21.3% | 2017 | 54/154 | 34/46 | −8.8 pp | — | |
| Basic water | 90.2% | 2024 | 147/206 | 5/46 | −2.3 pp | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitation | 77.4% | 2024 | 144/203 | 5/46 | +6.4 pp | 82.2% |
Digital & energy accessFull digital & energy access profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 78.4% | 2024 | 105/188 | 2/46 | +29.4 pp | 73.6% | |
| Mobile subscriptions | 179.3 | 2024 | 11/210 | 2/48 | +26% | 111.5 | |
| Fixed broadband | 5.3 | 2024 | 137/208 | 5/48 | +74% | 20.1 | |
| Electricity access | 90.2% | 2024 | 161/215 | 7/48 | +4.3 pp | 91.9% | |
| Clean cooking | 90.0% | 2024 | 108/192 | 4/48 | +7.0 pp | 75.4% |
EnvironmentFull environment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ per person | 6.88 t | 2024 | 36/203 | 2/47 | −21% | 4.69 t | |
| Renewable energy | 9.7% | 2021 | 147/212 | 45/48 | +0.7 pp | 19.7% | |
| Renewable power | 6.4% | 2021 | 154/206 | 38/48 | +4.4 pp | 27.8% | |
| Forest cover | 18.8% | 2024 | 134/214 | 30/48 | +0.7 pp | 31.1% | |
| Arable land | 9.9% | 2024 | 105/206 | 29/48 | ±0.0 pp | 10.7% | |
| Water withdrawals | 47.1% | 2022 | 32/177 | 6/47 | +13.0 pp | 9.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
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