South Africa has marginally avoided a technical recession as data released by Statistics South Africa shows that the economy grew by 0,1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Contributions to the uptick in growth came from the transport, mining, personal services and finance sectors among others.
The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0,6 percent for the year as a whole compared to 1,9 percent in 2022.
Chief Economist at Efficient Group Dawie Roodt says despite the uptick in growth, the economy is growing too slow to produce jobs.
“None of the major industries moved up or down. Economic growth for the full year at 0,6% which means that on a per capita basis, South Africans have been getting poorer again. I think it’s important to note that although the economy is not in a technical recession because of the tiny economic growth, in future, these numbers will be revised and it is possible that these numbers could be revised down which will leave SA in a technical recession.”
GDP data | South Africa’s economy grows by 0,1% in Q4: 2023: Xhanti Payi
