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Country profile

South Africa

At a glance

  • South Africa has a population of about 64.7M; its total GDP of $427.2B ranks #38 of 168 countries with data.
  • Its surface area of 1,219,090 km² is about 6.1× the world median of 198,330 km².
  • CO₂ emissions (total) stands out most against the median: 440 Mt — rank #15 of 165 countries with data.

Where South Africa stands

Population log axis

Population across 169 countries with data: South Africa at 64.7M, rank #24, world median 11.5M, logarithmic axis. Median 11.5M South Africa · 64.7M

GDP (total) log axis

GDP (total) across 168 countries with data: South Africa at $427.2B, rank #38, world median $80.7B, logarithmic axis. Median $80.7B South Africa · $427.2B

GDP per capita log axis

GDP per capita across 168 countries with data: South Africa at $6,598, rank #88, world median $6,834, logarithmic axis. Median $6,834 South Africa · $6,598

Life expectancy

Life expectancy across 169 countries with data: South Africa at 66.3 years, rank #136, world median 73.8 years. Median 73.8 years South Africa · 66.3 years

Every dot is one country with data — the highlighted dot is this country; the dashed line marks the world median. Wide-range metrics use a logarithmic axis (tagged) so the whole field stays readable.

South Africa: all 46 metrics vs the world median

Metric Value Trend Rank vs median
Population & land
Population 64.7M (2025) +35% #24 / 169 median 11.5M · 5.6×
Population growth 1.1% (2025) +21% #83 / 169 median 1.1% · 1.0×
Urban population share 63.8% (2025) +11% #85 / 169 median 63.8% · 1.0×
Population aged 65+ 6.9% (2025) +41% #88 / 169 median 7.4% · 93%
Fertility rate 2.2 (2024) −5% #81 / 169 median 2.1 · 1.1×
Birth rate 18.5‰ (2024) −12% #74 / 169 median 16.0‰ · 1.2×
Death rate 9.2‰ (2024) −23% #45 / 169 median 7.1‰ · 1.3×
Net migration 146.4K (2025) +191% #9 / 169 N/A
Surface area 1,219,090 km² (2023) #25 / 176 median 198,330 km² · 6.1×
Population density derived 53.1/km² (2025) +35% #104 / 169 median 75.5/km² · 70%
Economy
GDP (total) $427.2B (2025) +231% #38 / 168 median $80.7B · 5.3×
GDP per capita $6,598 (2025) +145% #88 / 168 median $6,834 · 97%
GNI per capita $6,270 (2025) +118% #86 / 168 median $6,350 · 99%
GDP growth (annual) 1.1% (2025) −70% #132 / 168 median 3.1% · 36%
Inflation rate 3.2% (2025) −66% #85 / 162 median 3.3% · 97%
Unemployment rate 32.4% (2025) +43% #2 / 168 median 5.1% · 6.3×
Gini index 54.1 (2022) −17% #5 / 153 median 35.3 · 1.5×
Poverty rate ($2.15/day) 17.4% (2022) −57% #46 / 153 median 2.5% · 7.0×
Trade & industry
Exports share of GDP 31.4% (2025) +10% #95 / 163 median 35.0% · 90%
Imports share of GDP 29.5% (2025) +18% #112 / 163 median 40.2% · 73%
Agriculture share of GDP 2.8% (2025) −4% #120 / 168 median 7.2% · 39%
Manufacturing share of GDP 12.3% (2025) −36% #73 / 165 median 11.2% · 1.1×
International tourist arrivals 3.9M (2020) −41% #42 / 162 median 1.1M · 3.4×
Tourism receipts $2.7B (2020) −26% #45 / 165 median $705M · 3.9×
Health & education
Life expectancy 66.3 years (2024) +19% #136 / 169 median 73.8 years · 90%
Infant mortality 24.2‰ (2024) −49% #55 / 166 median 13.1‰ · 1.9×
Under-five mortality 35.1‰ (2024) −54% #50 / 166 median 15.8‰ · 2.2×
DPT immunization 74.0% (2024) +6% #134 / 166 median 90.5% · 82%
Hospital beds 2.3 per 1,000 (2010) −25% #79 / 167 median 2.0 per 1,000 · 1.1×
Health spending share of GDP 8.9% (2023) +33% #40 / 165 median 6.5% · 1.4×
Secondary school enrollment 104.1% (2023) +40% #37 / 167 median 90.5% · 1.2×
Education spending share of GDP 6.0% (2024) +32% #22 / 165 median 4.1% · 1.5×
Society & living
Human Development Index 0.741 (2023) +21% #87 / 165 median 0.754 · 98%
Internet users 78.4% (2024) +1068% #91 / 169 median 81.5% · 96%
Mobile subscriptions 179.3 per 100 (2024) +528% #7 / 169 median 116.4 per 100 · 1.5×
Fixed broadband 5.3 per 100 (2024) +96117% #104 / 168 median 12.1 per 100 · 44%
Electricity access 90.2% (2024) +18% #117 / 169 median 99.9% · 90%
Environment & security
CO₂ emissions per capita 6.9 t (2024) −11% #31 / 165 median 2.6 t · 2.6×
CO₂ emissions (total) derived 440 Mt (2024) +19% #15 / 165 median 21.3 Mt · 21×
Renewable electricity share 6.4% (2021) +244% #141 / 169 median 34.1% · 19%
Renewable energy consumption 9.7% (2021) −27% #136 / 169 median 26.9% · 36%
Forest area 14.0% (2023) −4% #118 / 169 median 32.4% · 43%
Agricultural land 79.4% (2023) −2% #6 / 169 median 41.7% · 1.9×
Arable land 9.9% (2023) −12% #92 / 168 median 11.0% · 90%
PM2.5 exposure 27.7 µg/m³ (2023) +24% #54 / 168 median 19.8 µg/m³ · 1.4×
Military spending 0.7% (2024) −54% #140 / 157 median 1.8% · 39%

Ranks are value-descending and count only the countries that have data for that metric (#1 = highest value); N/A rows occupy no rank.

The median is the unweighted middle value across the countries with data (gold tick) — not a world average. Bars grow with the value: reaching the tick means matching the median, and a full bar means twice the median or more. The median value and this country's multiple are noted under each bar.

South Africa's true-shape outline

South Africa's border outline from Natural Earth 1:110m boundaries — total surface area 1,219,090 km².

South Africa head-to-head pages

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Data & method

Indicators: World Bank Open Data, 43 indicators — CC BY 4.0 © World Bank — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/; Surface area (sq. km) — CC BY 4.0 © World Bank — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/; Human Development Index — CC BY 3.0 IGO © United Nations Development Programme — https://hdr.undp.org/terms-use

Boundaries: Natural Earth 1:110m (public domain); surface areas are computed with an equal-area spherical formula (Chamberlin–Duquette).

Reference facts (capital, languages, currencies, subregion): mledoze/countries (ODbL).