Compensation of employees in South Africa
South Africa: Compensation of employees 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 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% |
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
- Arms imports 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- 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)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 30.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2023)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 44.31 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0071 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 2.84 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 24.73 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (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.
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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.