Compensation of employees (% of expense) in South Africa
South Africa: Compensation of employees (% of expense) was 14.2% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Compensation of employees in South Africa, 1972–2022
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2022, compensation of employees in South Africa stood at 14.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.0% on the previous year and down 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compensation of employees in South Africa peaked at 45.3% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 13.2%, in 2020.
South Africa ranks 126th of 155 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Compensation of employees (% of expense) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 24.8% | — |
| 1973 | 24.2% | -2.7% |
| 1974 | 24.4% | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 23.5% | -3.5% |
| 1976 | 23.1% | -1.9% |
| 1977 | 23.2% | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 23.4% | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 23.3% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 24.8% | +6.1% |
| 1981 | 25.0% | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 26.2% | +4.9% |
| 1983 | 24.3% | -7.5% |
| 1984 | 27.1% | +11.8% |
| 1985 | 24.8% | -8.5% |
| 1988 | 26.3% | +6.0% |
| 1989 | 27.4% | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 28.5% | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 30.4% | +6.8% |
| 1992 | 45.3% | +48.9% |
| 1993 | 43.0% | -5.0% |
| 1994 | 30.3% | -29.6% |
| 1995 | 15.6% | -48.4% |
| 1996 | 16.4% | +5.2% |
| 1997 | 16.8% | +2.3% |
| 1998 | 16.7% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 16.2% | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 15.6% | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 15.7% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 15.0% | -4.2% |
| 2003 | 14.6% | -2.8% |
| 2004 | 14.2% | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 14.3% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 13.8% | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 13.8% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 13.4% | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 13.3% | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 14.2% | +7.0% |
| 2011 | 13.4% | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 14.2% | +6.1% |
| 2013 | 14.2% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 14.1% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 14.1% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 14.9% | +5.9% |
| 2017 | 14.7% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 14.3% | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 14.2% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 13.2% | -6.8% |
| 2021 | 13.6% | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 14.2% | +4.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 14.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 53% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 14.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 36.9%, 38% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Compensation of employees (% of expense) in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +48.9% | 30.4% | 45.3% |
| 1995 | -48.4% | 30.3% | 15.6% |
| 1994 | -29.6% | 43.0% | 30.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 23.7% | 23.1% | 24.8% | 8 |
| 1980s | 25.7% | 24.3% | 27.4% | 8 |
| 1990s | 25.9% | 15.6% | 45.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.4% | 13.3% | 15.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.2% | 13.4% | 14.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.7% | 13.2% | 14.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More public sector data for South Africa
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 0.4746 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compensation of employees in South Africa?
- Compensation of employees in South Africa was 14.2% in 2022, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest compensation of employees recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 45.3% in 1992.
- What is the lowest compensation of employees recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.2% in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank for compensation of employees?
- South Africa ranks 126th out of 155 countries with data for 2022.
- Is compensation of employees rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Compensation of employees (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.