SOUTH AFRICA
Analyst
Iraj Abedian
Former Member, President’s Panel of Economic AdvisorsDatabanks
Recent Country Insights
Current account surplus switches to a deficit in Q2-2026
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 11 Sep 2026
Data released by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) shows that South Africa’s current account of the balance of payments deteriorated markedly during the second quarter of 2026, switching from a surplus of R181.6 billion in the first quarter to a deficit of R205.5 billion. As a percentage of G...
South Africa’s growth momentum falters in Q2-2026
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 09 Sep 2026
South Africa’s quarter-on-quarter real GDP declined by 0.2% during the second quarter of 2026, following the first quarter’s 0.4% q/q increase, bringing an end to six consecutive quarters of positive growth. On an annual basis, the economy was still 0.9% larger than in the second quarter of 2025,...
South Africa’s economy: stronger fundamentals, tougher headwinds
SOUTH AFRICA · Forecast · 28 Aug 2026
Summary and assumptions: South Africa’s growth: The South African economy maintained its growth momentum into the start of 2026, extending the recovery that began in 2025. Despite a more challenging global environment, the country's improving macroeconomic fundamentals continued to provide sup...
The South African Reserve Bank holds its ground as inflation reemerges
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 24 Jul 2026
The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced that it is leaving the benchmark interest rate unchanged following the completion of this week’s meeting. This comes after it increased rates by 25 bps during the committee’s previous meeting in May 2026. As such, t...
South Africa's Financial Stability Review: External risks dominate while domestic resilience holds
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 06 Jul 2026
The latest (June 2026) Financial Stability Review by the South African Reserve Bank signals an important shift in South Africa's macro-financial environment. While it continues the SARB's comprehensive assessment of both domestic and international risks to financial stability, the balance of risk...
South Africa’s Q1-2026 current account: stronger external balances amid rising global uncertainty
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 12 Jun 2026
Data released by the South African Reserve Bank shows that, during the first quarter of 2026, the surplus on South Africa’s current account of the balance of payments widened markedly, to R190.7 billion, up from R50.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. This makes it the largest surplus record...
South Africa records its sixth consecutive quarterly growth in Q1-2026
SOUTH AFRICA · Report · 09 Jun 2026
Real quarterly GDP increased by 0.5% q/q in the first quarter of 2026, following an expansion of 0.4% q/q during the fourth quarter of 2025. This, meanwhile, represents the sixth consecutive positive quarterly growth rate. The latest GDP print indicates that the South African economy maintained i...
South Africa’s economic outlook: resilience amid rising global uncertainty
SOUTH AFRICA · Forecast · 01 Jun 2026
South African growth: South Africa’s economic growth in 2025 accelerated from 2024’s anemic growth. However, relative to forecasts at the start of 2025, GDP growth still surprised on the downside—once again. The South African National Treasury had forecast 2025 GDP to expand by 1.4% during Budget...
South African President tripped by the "Farmgate Saga",- with his back against the ropes , fighting for political survival
SOUTH AFRICA · In Brief · 12 May 2026
On May 8th the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the land, issued a rare verdict instructing the Parliament to commence an inquiry into the conduct of the President by establishing an Impeachment Committee based on the findings of the 2022 Phala Phala Report produced by Parliament's Inde...