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South Africa · data for latest available · data as of 26 October 2026 · printed 27 Oct 2026
NationsTree / Countries / South Africa
2025
Flag of South Africa

South Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa Capital Pretoria Upper middle income Nation age 116 years (since 1910) i ZAF · ZA
NationsTree Index 2025 i41.9122nd of 196 Tree height 2025 i18 msee ranking Military strength i66percentile
Population i64.7 m24th of 217 Area i1,219,602 km²24th of 216 GDP i$427.18 bn40th of 210 GDP (PPP) i$1.03 trn intl.32nd of 199 GDP per person (PPP) i$15,906 intl.120th of 199 Life expectancy i66.3 years183rd of 217
Index pillars
Foundations · roots i43
Strength · trunk i74
Quality of life · crown i40
Problems (higher = fewer) · dry branches i29
Direction (5-year change) · new shoots i7
CSV

In short

South Africa is 122nd of 196 countries in the NationsTree Index, with a score of 41.9 out of 100; its tree is 18 m tall.

It has 64.7 million people and an economy of $1.03 trn at purchasing power parity, 32nd of 199 in the world.

Its strongest positions: Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) (29th of 164), Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) (12th of 55) and Secondary enrolment (46th of 173).

Its weakest positions: Unemployment (186th of 187), Income inequality (Gini) (107th of 108) and Homicide rate (140th of 145).

Over five years it fell from 78th to 122nd in the index.

All data

Data as of 26 October 2026

Latest available value for each indicator, with its year. World rank is among countries with recent data (last 5 years of the series).

Land & people

63
Surface area ikm² 1,219,602 24th/216
Land area ikm² 1,213,090 24th/216
Population ipeople 64.7 m 24th/217
Population growth i% 1.15% 93rd/217
Population density ipeople/km² 52.8 151st/216
Urban population i% 63.8% 111th/217
Population aged 0–14 i% 25.7% 91st/217
Population aged 65+ i% 6.9% 126th/217

Economy

42
GDP iUSD $427.18 bn 40th/210
GDP (PPP) iintl. USD $1.03 trn 32nd/199
Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) iintl. USD 2021 $880.05 bn 32nd/199
GDP per person iUSD $6,598 125th/210
GDP per person (PPP) iintl. USD $15,906 120th/199
GNI per person (Atlas) iUSD $6,270 116th/201
GDP growth i% 1.1% 169th/210
Inflation i% 3.2% 92nd/180
Unemployment i% 32.4% 186th/187
Central government debt i% of GDP 82.8% 45th/55
General government gross debt i% of GDP 78.4% 145th/189
Government budget balance i% of GDP -5.6% 160th/192

Main industries

54
Agriculture, forestry, fishing i% of GDP 2.8% 130th/197
Industry incl. construction i% of GDP 24.1% 95th/200
Manufacturing i% of GDP 12.3% 76th/192
Services i% of GDP 63.1% 67th/200

Trade

51
Exports of goods & services iUSD $134.18 bn 42nd/182
Imports of goods & services iUSD $126.02 bn 43rd/182
Exports i% of GDP 31.4% 109th/183
Imports i% of GDP 29.5% 134th/183
Trade openness i% of GDP 60.9% 126th/183
Fuel exports i% of merchandise exports 8.2% 58th/170
Manufactures exports i% of merchandise exports 38.3% 80th/171
Food exports i% of merchandise exports 12.8% 101st/171
Ores & metals exports i% of merchandise exports 30.4% 18th/171
High-tech exports i% of manufactured exports 5.7% 91st/168
Current account balance i% of GDP -0.5% 80th/191
Foreign direct investment, inflows i% of GDP -0.5% 183rd/196

Natural resources

67
Natural resource rents i% of GDP 7.3% 58th/209
Oil rents i% of GDP 0.40% 57th/197
Natural gas rents i% of GDP 0.03% 71st/197
Coal rents i% of GDP 2.44% 4th/195
Mineral rents i% of GDP 3.83% 28th/209
Forest rents i% of GDP 0.63% 66th/209
Arable land i% of land area 9.9% 105th/206
Renewable freshwater per person im³ 718 145th/183

Tourism

63
International tourist arrivals iarrivals 3.9 m 45th/194
Tourism receipts iUSD $2.72 bn 43rd/175
Tourism receipts i% of exports 2.9% 109th/168

Society & health

41
Life expectancy iyears 66.3 183rd/217
Under-5 mortality iper 1,000 births 35.1 144th/196
Physicians iper 1,000 people 0.79 108th/174
Hospital beds iper 1,000 people 2.32010
DPT immunization i% of children 12–23 months 74% 160th/193
Completed lower secondary, 25+ i% of adults 85.4% 61st/153
Secondary enrolment i% gross 104.1% 46th/173
Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) i% of population 78.4% 12th/55
Old-age dependency ratio i% of working-age population 10.2% 129th/217
Health spending i% of GDP 8.9% 47th/193
Adult literacy i% 91.2% 48th/98
Tertiary enrolment i% gross 23.5% 115th/150
Human Development Index iindex 0–1 0.741 106th/193
Income inequality (Gini) iindex 54.1 107th/108
Extreme poverty i% of population 17.4% 87th/108

Infrastructure & digital

61
Access to electricity i% of population 90.2% 161st/215
Safely managed drinking water i% of population 68.0% 90th/150
Safely managed sanitation i% of population 73.8% 60th/144
Internet users i% of population 78.4% 105th/186
Mobile subscriptions iper 100 people 179 11th/210
Fixed broadband iper 100 people 5.3 137th/208
Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) iscore 1–5 3.60 29th/164
Rail lines iroute-km 20,953 9th/82
Air passengers carried ipassengers 15.5 m 42nd/161

Environment & energy

35
CO₂ emissions per person it CO₂e 6.88 168th/203
Renewable energy i% of final energy use 9.7% 146th/212
Air pollution (PM2.5) iµg/m³ 27.7 146th/200
Forest area i% of land area 18.8% 134th/214
Energy use per person ikg oil eq. 1,907 61st/149

Institutions & safety

45
Government effectiveness iscore 0–100 51.9 109th/205
Control of corruption iscore 0–100 45.4 98th/207
Rule of law iscore 0–100 59.3 96th/207
Political stability iscore 0–100 58.9 142nd/207
Regulatory quality iscore 0–100 54.3 99th/205
Voice & accountability iscore 0–100 70.2 57th/205
Homicide rate iper 100,000 43.7 140th/145

Military

43
Military expenditure iUSD $3.17 bn 54th/156
Military expenditure i% of GDP 0.7% 133rd/156
Military expenditure i% of government spending 2.2% 139th/154
Armed forces personnel ipeople 89,000 54th/170
Armed forces personnel i% of labour force 0.40% 131st/168
Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 30.0 m 78th/163
Arms exports (SIPRI TIV) iTIV 115.0 m 24th/65

Science & innovation

64
R&D spending i% of GDP 0.61% 58th/110
Patent applications by residents iapplications 350 53rd/137
Scientific articles iarticles 14,949 33rd/197

Compare South Africa with

AngolaArgentinaAustraliaBrazilCanadaChinaEthiopiaFranceGermanyIndiaIndonesiaItalyJapanKenyaMexicoNigeriaRussiaSaudi ArabiaSouth KoreaTürkiyeUnited KingdomUnited States

Sources

Figures on this page come from: World Bank — World Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund — World Economic Outlook (DataMapper), Global Change Data Lab (Our World in Data) — Our World in Data, World Bank — Worldwide Governance Indicators . Nation age: Wikidata P571 (inception) (source). Every value is stored with its year and source series; see Sources & licences and Methodology.

Cite as: NationsTree (2026). South Africa — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/south-africa. Data as of 26 October 2026.

All figures come from official statistics published by public institutions (World Bank WDI and WGI, compiling UN agencies, IMF, WHO and national statistical offices). Each value carries its year; ranks are positions among countries with data.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). South Africa — country profile. https://nationstree.org/countries/south-africa. Data as of 26 October 2026.
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