Country profile · Sub-Saharan Africa · UMC
🇿🇦 South Africa
Upper middle income. Capital Pretoria. Mid-pack GDP/cap (UMC · MID) across 47 World Bank / WHO / ILO measures.
- 64 million
- Population
- $401.1 billion
- GDP
- $6,267
- GDP / capita
- 66.3 years
- Life expectancy
Mid-pack GDP/cap · MID
South Africa ranks 40th of 217 by total GDP and 183rd for life expectancy - a upper middle income economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- #40
- World GDP rank (of 217)
- $6,267
- GDP per capita
- #183
- Life-expectancy rank
- #24
- Population rank
South Africa sits in the middle third of GDP/cap (#127 of 214) as a UMC economy with MID longevity.
South Africa vs all countries by total GDP
Where this economy's World Bank total GDP sits among every country with a positive observation (inventory signal, not a virtue ranking)
$401,144,998,374 40th of 214 higher than 174 of 214 countries
Countries banded by World Bank total GDP (current US$)
Each bar is a $0.001K-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source World Bank, GDP (current US$) · 2026-08-14
South Africa on the global income map
South Africa (ZAF) mid GDP/cap pack - GDP per capita × life expectancy vs largest peers; gold rings = OECD.
- South Africa: GDP per capita $6,267 (2024), life expectancy 66.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- India: GDP per capita $2,695 (2024), life expectancy 72.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- China: GDP per capita $13,303 (2024), life expectancy 78.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United States: GDP per capita $84,534 (2024), life expectancy 78.9 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Indonesia: GDP per capita $4,925 (2024), life expectancy 71.3 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Pakistan: GDP per capita $1,479 (2024), life expectancy 67.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Nigeria: GDP per capita $1,084 (2024), life expectancy 54.6 years (2024), low income.
- Brazil: GDP per capita $10,311 (2024), life expectancy 76.0 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Bangladesh: GDP per capita $2,593 (2024), life expectancy 74.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Russian Federation: GDP per capita $14,889 (2024), life expectancy 73.4 years (2024), high income.
- Ethiopia: GDP per capita $1,134 (2024), life expectancy 67.6 years (2024), low income.
- Mexico: GDP per capita $14,186 (2024), life expectancy 75.3 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Japan: GDP per capita $32,487 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Egypt, Arab Rep.: GDP per capita $3,338 (2024), life expectancy 71.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Philippines: GDP per capita $3,985 (2024), life expectancy 69.9 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Congo, Dem. Rep.: GDP per capita $693 (2024), life expectancy 62.1 years (2024), low income.
- Viet Nam: GDP per capita $4,717 (2024), life expectancy 74.7 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Iran, Islamic Rep.: GDP per capita $5,190 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- Turkiye: GDP per capita $15,893 (2024), life expectancy 77.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Germany: GDP per capita $56,104 (2024), life expectancy 80.8 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Thailand: GDP per capita $7,387 (2024), life expectancy 76.6 years (2024), upper-middle income.
- United Kingdom: GDP per capita $53,246 (2024), life expectancy 81.4 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Tanzania: GDP per capita $1,193 (2024), life expectancy 67.2 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- France: GDP per capita $46,103 (2024), life expectancy 83.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Italy: GDP per capita $40,385 (2024), life expectancy 84.0 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Kenya: GDP per capita $2,133 (2024), life expectancy 63.8 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Myanmar: GDP per capita $1,359 (2024), life expectancy 67.1 years (2024), lower-middle income.
- Colombia: GDP per capita $7,951 (2024), life expectancy 77.9 years (2024), upper-middle income, OECD member.
- Korea, Rep.: GDP per capita $36,239 (2024), life expectancy 83.6 years (2024), high income, OECD member.
- Sudan: GDP per capita $985 (2024), life expectancy 66.5 years (2024), low income.
- Uganda: GDP per capita $1,078 (2024), life expectancy 68.5 years (2024), low income.
Overview
South Africa has a population of 64 million, making it the 24th-most populous country out of 217 tracked in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Its economy totals $401.1 billion - ranked 40th globally by total GDP. GDP per capita stands at $6,267, placing it in the Upper middle income category.
Life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years (ranked 183rd globally), reflecting overall health outcomes as measured by the World Bank.
The capital is Pretoria.
👥 Demographics
💰 Economy
🏥 Health
📚 Education
🌍 Environment
🏗️ Infrastructure
⚖️ Social
💼 Labor & Wages
🌐 Livability Score
One composite verdict from 5 of 5 World Bank series (life expectancy, under-5 mortality, electricity access, clean-water access, homicide rate), each benchmarked against every country tracking that series. A missing series never silently drags the score down: its weight redistributes across the series South Africa does report.
All indicators for South Africa
47 latest observations from World Bank WDI, WHO GHO, and ILO ILOSTAT (vintage through 2026-08-14). Values match the topic cards above; this table is the machine-readable export view analysts expect on a country profile.
🛣️ Road Safety
Fatality rates from OECD ITF; vulnerable road-user shares from WHO (where reported).
Sources: OECD ITF Transport Safety Indicators and WHO GHO road-user distribution (RS_246). Coverage: ~40 IRTAD member countries. Data years vary by country and source. Lower fatality rates indicate safer roads.
🫀 Disease Burden
Tuberculosis deaths at 40.0 per 100,000 sit well above the fleet midpoint (4.1) on South Africa; the cause list below is truncated to the steepest rates instead of repeating the full WHO menu. Summary metrics use 2021 data; cause-specific cards show their own observation year.
Non-communicable Diseases
Communicable & Maternal
Injuries & External Causes
Sources: WHO Global Health Observatory. NCD mortality rate: 2021. Rates are age-standardized per 100,000 population. Premature NCD risk covers cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease.
⛏️ Mineral Production
South Africa is among the world's top producers of 7 minerals. View all minerals →
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024. Data year 2023.
Compare South Africa with near GDP/cap peers
Side-by-side pages for the closest ABS GDP/cap neighbours - not a full-roster dropdown.
Read with South Africa
Nearest GDP/cap peers and LE poles for South Africa (UMC · MID), replacing the old fixed guide and region clone strip.
UMC MID
Tonga · UMC
Tonga GDP/cap $6,215 is lower by $52 than South Africa; LE stamp LONG vs MID.
Tuvalu · UMC
Tuvalu GDP/cap $6,345 is higher by $78 than South Africa; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Guatemala · UMC
Guatemala GDP/cap $6,151 is lower by $116 than South Africa; LE stamp LONG vs MID.
Fiji · UMC
Fiji GDP/cap $6,426 is higher by $159 than South Africa; LE stamp MID vs MID.
Sub-Saharan Africa WDI roster
South Africa stamps UMC · MID inside Sub-Saharan Africa - open the region roster after the ABS peers.
GDP/cap leaderboard (#127)
South Africa ranks #127 of 214 on NY.GDP.PCAP.CD under the UMC Atlas band.
What the data says about South Africa
South Africa is classified as an upper-middle-income economy, a tier where statistical capacity, and therefore data completeness, varies more widely than in high-income countries, so a missing or older data point on this profile usually reflects reporting lag rather than an absence of the underlying activity. With a large population spread across a correspondingly large territory, national-level figures for South Africa can mask enormous gaps between its wealthiest and poorest regions - more so than in a small, geographically compact economy. The trend across several years of an indicator usually tells a more useful story than any single year's value.
South Africa sits in the middle third of GDP/cap (#127 of 214) as a UMC economy with MID longevity.
South Africa holds 64 million people and $401.1 billion GDP (40th) at $6,267 per person - mid GDP/cap band, UMC, LE 66.3 years (183rd, MID). 47 WDI/WHO/ILO cells fill the topic blocks.
Nearest ABS GDP/cap peer: Tonga at $6,215 (Δ $52). Open that profile or the GDP/cap leaderboard before treating any single year as destiny.
What to do with South Africa's numbers
South Africa is classified UMC with MID. Use that context before comparing any single figure to another country.
- Compare South Africa directly against any other country, side by side, on the indicators that matter to you. Compare countries
- See exactly where South Africa ranks among all 217 tracked countries on a specific indicator, not just the ones shown here. Indicator rank finder
- Learn the common mistakes people make citing country statistics before you quote a number from this page. Reading country profiles
Figures above are sourced from World Bank, WHO, and ILO (OECD where applicable) as cited below; always verify against the primary source before citing a specific number.
Source: World Bank Open Data, Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, Source: ILO ILOSTAT, and Sources: OECD ITF / WHO GHO. World Bank and ILO data licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Disclaimer: This information is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice. See our full disclaimer and editorial policy.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced and computed.