South Africa

:This article is about the country called South Africa. For the region, see southern Africa.

Economy

:Main article: Economy of South Africa

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South Africa is a middle-income country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange, JSE Securities Exchange, that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centres throughout the region. South Africa's per capita GDP, corrected for purchasing power parity, positions the country as one of the 50 wealthiest in the world. In many respects, South Africa is developed. However large income gaps and a dual economy designate South Africa as developing.consecutive growth rates in the last ten years are helping lower unemployment, however, the economy still has ways to go, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President Thabo Mbeki vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment by relaxing restrictive labour laws, stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. His policies face strong opposition from organized labour.

Related Topics:
Stock exchange - JSE Securities Exchange - GDP - Purchasing power parity - Dual economy - Economic empowerment - 2000

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It is estimated that South Africa accounts for up to 30 percent of the gross domestic product of the entire African continent. South Africa is also the continent's largest energy producer and consumer.

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The rand, the world's most actively traded emerging market currency, has joined an elite club of 15 currencies - the Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) - where forex transactions are settled immediately, lowering the risks of transacting across time zone. The South African Rand was the best performing currency against the US Dollar between 2002 and 2005, according to the Bloomberg Currency Scorecard.

Related Topics:
Market currency - Continuous Linked Settlement - Time zone - Bloomberg

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South Africa is the best-ranked country in terms of price stability, its fiscal policy is ranked 11th, its international trade competitiveness 21st, and is is the 28th most-attractive destination for foreign direct investment, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2005.

Related Topics:
Price stability - Fiscal policy - International trade competitiveness - Foreign direct investment - World Competitiveness Yearbook 2005

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The value of South African real estate improved by 30% over the past 5 years. Over the past 5 years, Consumer Confidence in SA has also improved by 43%.

Related Topics:
Real estate - Consumer Confidence

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21.5% of the South African population have been estimated to be HIV positive in 2004. The government has recently, after much delay, devoted substantial resources to fighting the epidemic. A recent study from the African Journal of AIDS Research by Thomas Rehle and Olive Shisana showed the infection rate starting to level off, from 4.2 percent to 1.7 percent infection rate for 15-49 year olds, and AIDS deaths peaking at 487,320 in 2008.

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Since South Africa relaxed its border controls after the demise of apartheid, international crime syndicates have entered the country and a large proportion of the world's drug trade flows through the country. South Africa is also the fourth-largest producer of marijuana in the world.

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The volatility of the rand has affected economic activity, with the Rand falling sharply during 2001 (hitting an historic low of R13.85 to the Dollar, raising fears of inflation, and causing the Reserve Bank to increase interest rates). The Rand has since dramatically recovered, trading at R6.55 to the dollar as of July 2005 while the South African Reserve Bank's policy of inflation targeting has brought inflation under control. The stronger Rand has however put exporters under considerable pressure, with many calling for government to intervene in the exchange rate to help soften the Rand, and many others dismissing staff.

Related Topics:
Rand - 2001 - Interest rate - 2005

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Interest rates have been cut to their lowest levels in more than two decades. Rates were cut by 550 basis points in 2003, 50 basis points in 2004 and a further 50 basis points in 2005. The cuts fuelled economic growth, with South Africa recording 5.6 percent of economic growth in the third quarter of 2004, the highest quarterly growth reported since 1996. Many economists feel that the country is entering a period of strong growth and may achieve sustained annual growth of 5 percent or more.

Related Topics:
2003 - 2004 - 1996

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