South Africa's Economy Grows 0.4% in Q4 2025, Marking Fifth Consecutive Quarter of Expansion; Full-Year GDP Hits 1.1%
PRETORIA, 10 March 2026. South Africa's economy expanded by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, its fifth consecutive quarter of positive growth, pushing full-year GDP growth to 1.1%, the strongest annual performance since 2022 and above the South African Reserve Bank's forecast of approximately...
South Africa's Economy Grows 0.4% in Q4 2025, Marking Fifth Consecutive Quarter of Expansion; Full-Year GDP Hits 1.1%
PRETORIA, 10 March 2026. South Africa's economy expanded by 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, its fifth consecutive quarter of positive growth, pushing full-year GDP growth to 1.1%, the strongest annual performance since 2022 and above the South African Reserve Bank's forecast of approximately 1.0%, Statistics South Africa reported on Tuesday.
Finance, real estate, and business services led the supply side of the economy for the quarter, growing 1.4% and contributing the most to overall expansion. Trade, catering, and accommodation also performed strongly, driven by wholesale, retail, and food-related sectors. Agriculture registered its fifth consecutive quarterly gain, with field crops and horticulture leading the sector's growth. General government services expanded through civil servant employment increases.
On the negative side, manufacturing contracted 0.6%, dragged down by automotive and food-processing divisions, and remained the largest sectoral drag on growth. Mining declined despite gains in manganese, chromium, and iron ore, as coal, platinum group metals, gold, and diamonds all fell short. Electricity, gas, and water contracted 2.2%, its second consecutive quarterly decline, a somewhat counterintuitive result given the sharp improvement in load-shedding hours over 2025, which economists attributed to maintenance cycles and structural changes in how electricity consumption is measured.
Household consumption continued to hold up, rising 1.2% in the fourth quarter for a seventh consecutive quarter of growth. Gross fixed capital formation expanded for a second straight quarter, with computer software investments and construction driving the increase. Exports declined 0.6%, reflecting softening global demand for some of South Africa's key commodity exports.
The government welcomed the figures as confirmation of an economic recovery. The annual 1.1% growth rate, while below what economists say is needed to meaningfully reduce unemployment, which stood at 31.4% in Q4 2025, represented a notable improvement over the near-stagnation of recent years. South Africa's GDP had contracted 0.1% in 2023 before returning to positive growth in 2024.
Statistics South Africa releases quarterly GDP data approximately 10 weeks after the end of the reference quarter.