Net investment in nonfinancial assets in South Africa
South Africa: Net investment in nonfinancial assets was 1.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Net investment in nonfinancial assets in South Africa, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.3% for net investment in nonfinancial assets in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and up 19.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, net investment in nonfinancial assets in South Africa peaked at 2.3% in 1972 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2000.
That places South Africa 127th out of 156 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Net investment in nonfinancial assets in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 2.3% | — |
| 1973 | 2.0% | -16.5% |
| 1974 | 2.1% | +5.5% |
| 1975 | 2.3% | +10.6% |
| 1976 | 2.3% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 2.2% | -4.9% |
| 1978 | 1.9% | -10.2% |
| 1979 | 1.8% | -6.5% |
| 1980 | 1.7% | -4.4% |
| 1981 | 1.9% | +9.0% |
| 1982 | 1.7% | -8.4% |
| 1983 | 1.7% | -2.5% |
| 1984 | 1.6% | -3.3% |
| 1985 | 1.8% | +8.5% |
| 1986 | 1.9% | +9.2% |
| 1987 | 1.5% | -22.5% |
| 1988 | 1.4% | -5.4% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | -17.1% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | +11.1% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 1.0% | -19.6% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | -6.9% |
| 1994 | 0.5% | -46.2% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | +51.9% |
| 1996 | 0.7% | -14.7% |
| 1997 | 0.7% | +1.9% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 0.5% | -29.2% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -6.8% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | +26.0% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | -11.9% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | +7.0% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -11.3% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | +21.0% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | +14.7% |
| 2009 | 1.1% | +89.2% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 1.1% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | -7.8% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +6.5% |
| 2015 | 1.2% | +10.1% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -16.9% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -27.2% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -9.6% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | -9.9% |
| 2021 | 0.7% | +11.3% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | +66.3% |
| 2023 | 1.4% | +23.4% |
| 2024 | 1.3% | -2.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 1.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.6%, 52% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 1.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.7%, 28% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Net investment in nonfinancial assets 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +89.2% | 0.6% | 1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.6% | 1.4% | 5 |
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 net investment in nonfinancial assets in South Africa?
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets in South Africa was 1.3% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest net investment in nonfinancial assets recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1972.
- What is the lowest net investment in nonfinancial assets recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank for net investment in nonfinancial assets?
- South Africa ranks 127th out of 156 countries with data for 2024.
- Is net investment in nonfinancial assets rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.8%. 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 Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Net investment in government nonfinancial assets includes fixed assets, inventories, valuables, and nonproduced assets. Nonfinancial assets are stores of value and provide benefits either through their use in the production of goods and services or in the form of property income and holding gains. Net investment in nonfinancial assets also includes consumption of fixed capital. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.