South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world; and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa's high unemployment rate; and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates also deter investment. South African economic policy is fiscally conservative, but pragmatic, focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade as means to increase job growth and household income.

purchasing power parity - $427.7 billion (2002 est.)

3% (2002 est.)

purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2002 est.)

agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 28.9%
services: 66.7% (2001)

50% (2000 est.)

9.9% (2002 est.)

17 million economically active

agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.)

37% (includes workers no longer looking for employment) (2001 est.)

mining (world's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium), automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textile, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs

3% (2002 est.)