• The economy of South Africa is growing slowly, although it is struggling to keep up with population growth, leading to a fall in income per capita. Real GDP witnessed a marginal gain of 0.8% in 2018, primarily due to weakening consumer confidence and a slowdown in exports.
  • In an attempt to improve state finances, tax structure encountered changes, particularly the VAT hike from 14% to 15% in 2018, which imposed constraints on consumer spending.  Nonetheless, the real value of private final consumption witnessed an increase of 1.8% in the same year.
  • The growth in population also led to a slowdown in the employment in rate 2019, rising over the 2018 level of 27.1%. One critical negative influential factor is the low level of labor productivity in South Africa compared to its peers.