Taxes on goods and services in South Africa
South Africa: Taxes on goods and services was 10.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Taxes on goods and services in South Africa, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % value added of industry and services.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 10.8% for taxes on goods and services in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.2% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, taxes on goods and services in South Africa peaked at 11.3% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 1974.
South Africa ranks 67th of 154 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Taxes on goods and services in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % value added of industry and services | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 4.7% | — |
| 1973 | 4.3% | -7.0% |
| 1974 | 3.7% | -15.3% |
| 1975 | 4.2% | +14.1% |
| 1976 | 4.6% | +9.8% |
| 1977 | 4.8% | +4.8% |
| 1978 | 5.8% | +20.0% |
| 1979 | 6.0% | +4.5% |
| 1980 | 5.8% | -3.9% |
| 1981 | 6.0% | +3.8% |
| 1982 | 6.7% | +12.0% |
| 1983 | 6.8% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 8.0% | +17.1% |
| 1985 | 8.5% | +6.9% |
| 1986 | 8.1% | -5.3% |
| 1987 | 8.4% | +4.2% |
| 1988 | 9.1% | +7.6% |
| 1989 | 10.0% | +9.8% |
| 1990 | 9.3% | -6.3% |
| 1991 | 8.9% | -5.1% |
| 1992 | 7.8% | -11.5% |
| 1993 | 9.2% | +17.5% |
| 1994 | 9.3% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 9.1% | -2.4% |
| 1996 | 9.1% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 9.2% | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 9.3% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 9.4% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 8.9% | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 8.9% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 8.6% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 9.0% | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 9.8% | +9.5% |
| 2005 | 10.2% | +4.0% |
| 2006 | 10.5% | +2.6% |
| 2007 | 10.4% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 9.6% | -8.5% |
| 2009 | 9.0% | -5.5% |
| 2010 | 9.9% | +10.2% |
| 2011 | 9.8% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 10.2% | +4.9% |
| 2013 | 10.4% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 10.7% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 11.3% | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 10.9% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 10.7% | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 11.1% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 11.1% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 10.5% | -5.3% |
| 2021 | 11.3% | +7.6% |
| 2022 | 11.1% | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 11.1% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 10.8% | -2.2% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 10.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.8%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 10.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8.3%, 1.3× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.8% | 3.7% | 6.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 7.7% | 5.8% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.1% | 7.8% | 9.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.5% | 8.6% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.6% | 9.8% | 11.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.0% | 10.5% | 11.3% | 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 taxes on goods and services in South Africa?
- Taxes on goods and services in South Africa was 10.8% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest taxes on goods and services recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.3% in 2021.
- What is the lowest taxes on goods and services recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 1974.
- How does South Africa rank for taxes on goods and services?
- South Africa ranks 67th out of 154 countries with data for 2024.
- Is taxes on goods and services rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. 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 Taxes on goods and services (% value added of industry and services). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of value added in industry and services which is the contribution to the economy by industries in ISIC (Rev. 3) divisions 05-43 and 50-99.