South Africa’s economy has started to show positive signs. This is after it exceeded expectations growing by 1.3% in 2017. The latest Statistics South Africa data further shows that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accelerated 3.1% in the last quarter of the past year.
The largest contribution to GDP came from agriculture, followed by trade, catering, accommodation and manufacturing sectors.
Economist Elize Kruger says there is a strong indication that the economy is recovering.
“The overall year of 2017 turned out to be stronger than expected at a 1.3% real GDP growth number. The star performer was again the agricultural sector that grew by 37.3% quarter-on-quarter and contributing a 0.8% to the total quarterly number. Overall, quite a broad base, good recovery evident in fourth quarter numbers.”
The SA #economy grew by 3,1% in Q4:2017, highest q/q growth rate since Q2:2016 #StatsSA #GDP https://t.co/AcZQJBy1sc pic.twitter.com/mDNCggdWMo
— Stats SA (@StatsSA) March 6, 2018
Household final consumption expenditure was up 3,6% in Q4 2017. Clothing & footwear recorded highest growth, alcoholic beverages, tobacco & narcotics recorded biggest decline #GDP #StatsSA https://t.co/FRtyo0zyLS pic.twitter.com/2ZAw9qYWGO
— Stats SA (@StatsSA) March 6, 2018