JOHANNESBURG, Mar 10 – South Africa recorded its strongest economic growth in three years in 2025, supported by improved performance across several sectors including agriculture, trade and financial services.
According to new data released by Statistics South Africa, the country’s gross domestic product expanded by 1.1% in 2025, compared with 0.5% growth recorded the previous year.
The figure represents the fastest annual expansion since 2022, when the economy grew by 2.1%.
Despite the improvement, South Africa’s economy has struggled to achieve strong and consistent growth over the past decade. Structural challenges such as electricity shortages and logistics constraints have limited output in key sectors including mining and manufacturing while also discouraging investment.
However, policymakers say ongoing economic reforms are beginning to improve investor confidence and support a more optimistic growth outlook.
The National Treasury of South Africa expects economic growth to gradually strengthen in the coming years, projecting expansion of around 2% by 2028. For 2026, growth is estimated at about 1.6%.
Sector data shows that seven of the country’s ten major industries contributed positively to economic growth in 2025.
Agriculture recorded the strongest performance, with output increasing by 17.4%. The trade, catering and accommodation sector expanded by 2.3%, while the financial services industry grew by 1.9%. The transport sector also registered growth of 0.8%.
Economic activity improved toward the end of the year. During the fourth quarter, the economy expanded by 0.4%, slightly faster than the revised 0.3% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
The quarterly expansion was largely driven by stronger activity in financial services and trade. The finance sector grew by 1.4% during the period, while trade increased by 0.9%.
The fourth-quarter growth rate also exceeded the 0.3% median forecast from economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
