The Economy Of South Africa

GDP

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Africa averages to an annual increase of 3.3% based over the past decade and expanded 3.2 percent in the second quarter of 2012 over the previous quarter.  South Africa has a two-tiered economy; one rivaling other developed countries and the other with only the most basic infrastructure. It is therefore a productive and industrialized economy that possesses many characteristics associated with developing countries, including a division of labor between formal and informal sectors and an uneven distribution of wealth and income, with he primary sector, based on manufacturing, services, mining, and agriculture, is well developed. 

POPULATION


The total population in South Africa was last reported at 50.0 million people in 2010 from 17.4 million in 1960, changing 187 percent during the last 50 years.  South Africa has 0.72 percent of the world´s total population which means that one person in every 138 people on the planet is a resident of South Africa.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS

South Africa exports were worth 61.7 Billion ZAR in June of 2012. South Africa has rich mineral resources. It is the world's largest producer and exporter of gold and platinum and also exports a significant amount of coal. Another major export is diamonds. South Africa's major exports partners include United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium, China, and Japan. 

South Africa imports were worth 67.4 Billion ZAR in June of 2012.  South Africa imports mainly machinery, foodstuffs, equipment, chemicals, petroleum products and scientific instruments. Its principal import partners are: European Union, China, United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

50 FACTS ABOUT THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY

1.  South Africa’s Rand is the second best-performing emerging market currency of the 26 monitored by Bloomberg in 2009
2.  South Africa sold $1.8 billion worth of cars to the US last year, putting the country ahead of Sweden and Italy as suppliers to the US market.

3.  South Africa ranked 44th out of 131 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2007/8.
4.  South Africa was ranked as the 18th most attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment by global strategic management consulting firm AT Kearney. 


http://www.packagetours.co.za/pt-blog/72-blog/358-pt2.html

TYPE OF ECONOMY


The free market economy of South Africa has allowed it to become the 18th most attractive destination for Foreign Investment.  

The economy of South Africa is the largest in Africa, it accounts for 24% of its Gross Domestic Product, and is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank, which makes the country one of only four countries in Africa represented in this category.

The high levels of unemployment and inequality are considered by the government and most South Africans to be the most salient economic problems facing the country. These issues, and others linked to them such as crime, have in turn hurt investment and growth, consequently having a negative feedback effect on employment



GOVERNMENT RULES AND LEGISLATION

South Africa suffers from relatively heavy overall regulation burden compared to developed countries. State ownership and interference impose high barriers to entry in many areas. The unemployment rate is very high at over 25%, and the poor have limited access to economic opportunities and basic services. Restrictive labour regulations have contributed to the unemployment malaise.