South Africa
The Rainbow Nation has lost its position as Africa’s top economy and is no longer seen as a default gateway into the continent. Political struggles, policy uncertainty and low confidence levels are straining economic growth.
A moderate economic recovery is still forecast for South Africa in 2019, but risks to the outlook have shifted to the downside given mounting signs of a slowdown in global trade, a resumption of load shedding (planned electricity outages) and a higher tax burden for consumers, among others. Consequently, we have lowered our forecasts for real GDP growth to 1.3% (from 1.9%) and 1.8% (from 2.2%) for 2019 and 2020, respectively, compared to 0.8% in 2018. (Source: South Africa Quarterly Update, published March 2019)
Macroeconomic Data
(2018)
|
Fiscal Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-4.3 |
|
Consumer Price Index (% change y-o-y, avg) |
4.6 |
|
Current Account Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-3.6 |
|
Real GDP (annual % change) |
0.8 |
|
GDP per Capita, US$ |
6,430.4 |
|
Import Cover (months) |
6.1 |
|
Population, million |
57.5 |
| Total External Debt (as a % of GDP) |
57.5 |