Social contributions in South Africa
South Africa: Social contributions was 1.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Social contributions in South Africa, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.8% for social contributions in 2024.
The figure is up 2.5% on the previous year and down 11.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social contributions in South Africa peaked at 2.4% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1980.
South Africa ranks 86th of 112 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Social contributions in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 1.2% | — |
| 1973 | 1.2% | -1.1% |
| 1974 | 1.3% | +13.6% |
| 1975 | 1.2% | -9.6% |
| 1976 | 1.2% | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 1.1% | -5.7% |
| 1978 | 1.3% | +18.4% |
| 1979 | 1.2% | -8.5% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | -9.4% |
| 1981 | 1.2% | +3.8% |
| 1982 | 1.3% | +8.3% |
| 1983 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 1.2% | -5.1% |
| 1985 | 1.2% | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 1.5% | +29.4% |
| 1987 | 2.0% | +30.5% |
| 1988 | 1.8% | -10.2% |
| 1989 | 1.8% | +4.2% |
| 1990 | 1.7% | -5.4% |
| 1991 | 1.7% | -2.5% |
| 1992 | 1.9% | +10.9% |
| 1993 | 1.8% | -6.2% |
| 1994 | 1.7% | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 2.0% | +17.2% |
| 1996 | 2.1% | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 2.2% | +5.7% |
| 1998 | 2.1% | -5.4% |
| 1999 | 1.9% | -7.2% |
| 2000 | 2.1% | +8.3% |
| 2001 | 1.9% | -9.7% |
| 2002 | 2.1% | +12.4% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | +12.9% |
| 2004 | 2.1% | -10.3% |
| 2005 | 2.0% | -4.2% |
| 2006 | 2.0% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 2.0% | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | +6.4% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | -4.4% |
| 2011 | 2.0% | -4.1% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | +10.5% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | -5.5% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -8.6% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | +5.9% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | -8.4% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 1.8% | -7.6% |
| 2021 | 1.8% | -5.0% |
| 2022 | 1.7% | -3.6% |
| 2023 | 1.7% | +3.3% |
| 2024 | 1.8% | +2.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.4% | 1.1% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.9% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 1.9% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 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 social contributions in South Africa?
- Social contributions in South Africa was 1.8% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest social contributions recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 2003.
- What is the lowest social contributions recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for social contributions?
- South Africa ranks 86th out of 112 countries with data for 2024.
- Is social contributions rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Social contributions (% of revenue). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Social contributions are actual or imputed contributions payable to social insurance schemes to make provisions for social benefits to be paid. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.