South Africa — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of South Africa: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
South Africa is in Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. It covers 1,219,090 sq km. 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule). Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain. Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights.
| Capital | Pretoria (administrative capital); Cape Town (legislative capital); Bloemfontein (judicial capital) |
|---|---|
| Population | 61,089,926 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $870.42 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $13,600 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 0.6% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 4.4% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 33.2% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 76.2% of GDP (2022 est.) |
| Exports | $127.629 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $119.59 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 71.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 30.7 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 68.8% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 22 August 1934 (Status of the Union Act); 31 May 1961 (republic declared); 27 April 1994 (majority rule) |
| Languages | isiZulu or Zulu (official) 25.3%, isiXhosa or Xhosa (official) 14.8%, Afrikaans (official) 12.2%, Sepedi or Pedi (official) 10.1%, Setswana or Tswana (official) 9.1%, English (official) 8.1%, Sesotho or Sotho (official) 7.9%, Xitsonga or Tsonga (official) 3.6%, siSwati or Swati (official) 2.8%, Tshivenda or Venda (official) 2.5%, isiNdebele or Ndebele (official) 1.6%, other (includes South African sign language (official) and Khoi or Khoisan or Khoe languages) 2% (2018 est.) |
South Africa’s GDP is $870.42 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $400.261 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 0.6% (2024 est.). See where South Africa ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +2 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
The government of national unity kept holding through the quarter, and the load-shedding-free grid stayed the quiet achievement.
Growth remained anaemic but directionally intact — a modestly positive quarter for a country in slow repair.
- What our model rewards: $65 billion in foreign-exchange reserves — a war chest for crises; a top world supplier of Platinum group metals and Manganese — commodities the planet cannot do without
- What drags it down: unemployment at 33.2%; only 17% of electricity from low-carbon sources
Gold, Chromium, Antimony, Coal, Iron ore, Manganese, Nickel, Phosphates, Tin, Rare earths, Uranium, Diamonds, Platinum, Copper, Vanadium, Salt, Natural gas.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 86.5% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 87.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 3.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 2.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 5.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 0.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 86.197 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 1,362.5 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 244.8 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 21,287 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Coal 82.1%, Solar 8.2%, Wind 4.5%, Nuclear 3.5%, Oil 1.2%, Hydro 0.3% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 16.7% (2024) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 708.9 gCO2/kWh (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $127.629 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $119.59 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $8.0 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, commercial ship repair |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Cyril Ramaphosa — President. President Matamela Cyril RAMAPHOSA (since 19 June 2024)
South Africa maintains 97 embassies and 12 consulates abroad, hosts 133 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, AU Addis Ababa. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 97 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 12 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 133 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, AU Addis Ababa |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, Diplomatic and Consular Networks Database and Rankings, March 2026 (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0). https://zenodo.org/records/18917562
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 2798 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 573 + 49 heliports (registration prefix ZS) |
| Major seaports | Cape Town, Durban, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay |
| Railways | 30400 km |
| Pipelines | 94 km condensate, 1,293 km gas, 992 km oil, 1,460 km refined products (2013) |
| Top container ports (TEU) | Durban (2,430,295 TEU, 2021) |
Major airports
Bram Fischer International Airport (BFN) — Bloemfontein; Cape Town International Airport (CPT) — Cape Town; Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (PLZ) — Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth); George Airport (GRJ) — George; Kimberley Airport (KIM) — Kimberley; King Phalo Airport (ELS) — East London; King Shaka International Airport (DUR) — Durban; Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP) — Mbombela; Lanseria International Airport (HLA) — Johannesburg; O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) — Johannesburg.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
Terminals
| LNG import terminals | Mossel Bay |
|---|
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for South Africa.
Historical timeline of South Africa
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of South Africa — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is South Africa's power score?
South Africa has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.