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CountriesSouthern AfricaSouth Africa
Country record

South Africa

South Africa reports more, and more often, than most of the continent. Nine of ten datasets here reach 2025; one stops earlier, and this page shows where.

API
Where South Africa ranks in 2024, of 53 · change since 2014
1stGDP$401.1bn1
2ndMobile179 per 1002
4thInternet use78.4%1
Last updated 1 Oct 2026 · World Bank · IMF · UNHCR
LesothoZimbabweBotswanaNamibiaMozambiqueEswatiniPretoriaJohannesburg
Six land borders, 2,798 km of coast. Hover a neighbour to compare.
CapitalPretoriaLanguagesAfrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, ZuluCurrencySouth African rand · ZARArea1,221,037 km²

At a glance

64.7 million people, half of them under 29, in an economy of $480.0bn in 2026, growing 1.0% a year.

South Africa’s economy is measured monthly and its households are measured by census. That split runs through everything below: exchange rates and market prices arrive within days, while access to water and power is estimated years after the fact.

One of the four figures beside this is modelled rather than reported. The page marks which is which everywhere, so a number you cite is a number you can defend.

How current the record is
91
Current to 2025To 2024
Population64.7mpeople · Reported · 2025
Median age28.9years · Modelled · 2026
GDP per capita$7,503current US$ · Reported · 2026
Internet use78.4%of population · Reported · 2024
Coverage — ten datasets, ten years

Nine of ten datasets carry a 2025 figure. Climate stops at 2024. Hatching is the absence of a figure, not a low one.

’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Indicators
FX rates
Markets
Trade
Government
Policies
Prices
Power
Climate
Humanitarian
ReportedModelledNo figure
/v1/data?country_code=za
Goods trade balanceExports and imports, US$ billions
05010015020142024ImportsExports
Exports and imports have run close over the decade; the band is the gap.World BankSources →
Where exports goTop destinations, 2025
China$12.39bnAreas, nes$9.78bnGermany$8.87bn
China takes 40% of the recorded exports.Trade partners recordSources →
Where imports come fromTop origins, 2025
China$23.59bnIndia$7.64bnGermany$7.24bn
China alone supplies more than India and Germany together.Trade partners recordSources →
GDP per capitaCurrent US$, not inflation-adjusted
$5k$6.5k$8k20142024$6,267
Reported every year, including the 2023 dip in dollar terms.IMFSources →
InflationAnnual change in consumer prices
0%4%8%201420244.4%
4.4% in 2024; the decade’s peak was 7.0% in 2022.South African Reserve BankSources →
Remittances receivedUS$ billions, current prices
0.60.91.220142024$0.86bn
Flat over the decade in current prices.World BankSources →
Goods exports by value2025 · top categories
Pearls & gold$23.73bnOres$17.55bnVehicles$15.23bn
Pearls & gold alone is 42% of the recorded top categories; services are excluded here.Trade products recordSources →
Public debtGross central government debt, share of GDP
0%50%100%2014202476.0%
Up 33 points since 2014.IMFSources →
Rand per US dollarAnnual average exchange rate
010202014202418.3
Lost 11% of its dollar value in 2023, then recovered in 2024.World Bank GEMSources →
Access to electricityShare of population with a connection
0501002014202490.2%
Up 4.3 points over the decade.World BankSources →
Under-five mortalityDeaths before age five, per 1,000 live births
3040502014202435.1
Falling steadily; modelled between census years.WHOSources →
Life expectancy at birthYears
5065802014202466.3 yrs
The 2021 dip is the pandemic, in vermilion.World BankSources →
Mobile subscriptionsPer 100 people · 100 marks parity
12016020020142024179
More subscriptions than people since 2014.World BankSources →
Urban populationShare living in urban areas
50%65%80%2014202463.7%
Reported every year the record allows.World BankSources →
Who holds powerFive heads of state since 1994, and every office beneath the current one as the record holds it
/v1/government/overview/za
19942026
The executive as of
Oct 2026Where it stands

Cyril Ramaphosa has held the office of President of South Africa since Feb 2018. The record holds 16 current ministers.

ElectedAppointed
Cyril RamaphosaCyril RamaphosaPresident of South Africain office since Feb 2018
No second seatthe deputy for this date is not in the record
No third seatno second office is recorded for this date
16 seats confirmed current · 17 recorded for 2025
16Ministersone per portfolio · as the record holds them for this date
Defence and Military VeteransFinance (South Africa)HealthHuman SettlementsSmall Business DevelopmentWater and SanitationAgriculture, Land Reform and Rural DevelopmentEnvironment, Forestry and FisheriesHigher Education, Science and InnovationHome AffairsInternational Relations and CooperationSocial DevelopmentTrade and Industry and CompetitionMineral ResourcesPoliceEducation
—Junior ministersjunior ministers for this date are not in the record
No ministers of state, delegates or deputy ministers are in the record for this date — hatching marks what we do not hold.
Outside the chain
21Regional and local offices11 ministers · 10 councillors

The record holds 21 regional and local offices for South Africa — 11 ministers and 10 councillors — as Wikidata records them, not a complete roster. Governors and administrators it does not name are not shown.

Read this first Coverage varies by country and institution. Recorded offices are not a complete government roster. Marked current is a source claim. Missing dates are shown as uncertain. Office groups are classifications. Connections are recorded Wikidata relationships, not verified reporting lines.

Wikidata · offices, terms and their dates as the record classifies them · structure as of 18 Oct 2026 · Portraits: Wikimedia Commons, licences per imageAll offices and people →Data and sources →
South Africa
The whole table

Nine measures, with the year each one was taken

Reporting periods differ by source
IndicatorLatestYear2014ChangeCertaintySource
Access to electricity90.2%202485.9%+4.3 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Basic drinking water22.2%202423.3%−1.1 ptsReportedUNICEF
Basic sanitation3.6%202415.5%−11.9 ptsReportedUNICEF
Clean cooking fuel90.0%202483.0%+7.0 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Under-five mortality35.1202439.7−4.7 per 1,000ModelledWHO
Life expectancy at birth66.3 yrs202463.2 yrs+3.1 yrsReportedWorld Bank
Urban population63.8%202563.1%+0.7 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Internet use78.4%202449.0%+29.4 ptsReportedWorld Bank
Mobile subscriptions179 / 1002024143 / 100+37ReportedWorld Bank

Every indicator we hold for South Africa

170 of 207 indicators carry a figure for South Africa. Each opens its own page with the full history, the source and the API request.

Economy
Trade
Development
Demographics
Health
Child Welfare
Education
Food Security
Agriculture
Governance
Humanitarian
Technology
Infrastructure
Energy
Climate

How South Africa ranks across Africa

South Africa's position on 169 indicators, among the countries with a recent figure for each. A higher place means a higher value, not a better result. Each links to the full ranking.

Economy

Trade

Development

Demographics

Health

Child Welfare

Education

Food Security

Agriculture

Governance

Humanitarian

Technology

Infrastructure

Energy

Climate

Compare South Africa with other African countries

The record for every other African country, by region, and side-by-side comparisons where we publish them.

South Africa compared

Southern Africa

Sources, method & citation

Every figure on this page is traceable to a named publication and a retrieval date. Where we model a value we say so; where no one has reported, we leave it empty.

Upstream sources
World Bank2025
IMF2026
UNHCR2025
South African Reserve Bank2026
Sources & methods
Cite this page

Africa API (2026) — “South Africa: country record”. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026.

Free to use under CC BY 4.0. Each upstream source keeps its own licence.
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