South Africa vs the United States: Economic Indicators Comparison
The United States with a GDP of $20.5T ranked the 1st largest economy in the world, while South Africa ranked 35th with $368.3B. By GDP 5-years average growth and GDP per capita, the United States and South Africa ranked 113th vs 151st and 11th vs 95th, respectively.
Gross Domestic Product & Income
| Stat |  South Africa |  United States |
|---|---|---|
| GDP | $368.3B | $20.5T |
| GDP growth, 1 year | 0.8% | 2.9% |
| GDP growth, 5-years average | 1.1% | 2.4% |
| Population | 57.7M | 325.1M |
| GDP per capita | $6.4k | $63k |
| GDP per capita growth | -0.57% | 2.29% |
| Purchasing Power Parity conversion factor | 6.16 | 1 |
| Price level ratio of PPP conversion factor GDP to market exchange rate | 0.47 | 1 |
| GDP per capita, PPP adjusted | $14k | $63k |
| GNI, Atlas method | $332.3B | $20.6T |
| GNI per capita | $5.8k | $63k |
| GNI, PPP adjusted | $765.8B | $20.8T |
| GNI per capita, PPP adjusted | $13k | $64k |
Financial system and Human development
| Stat | South Africa | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax Rate | 45% | 37% |
| Corporate Tax Rate | 28% | 21% |
| Inflation, consumer prices | 4.6% | 2.4% |
| Inflation, GDP deflator | 3.9% | 2.4% |
| Unemployment | 27% | 3.9% |
| Economic Freedom Index | 58.8 | 76.6 |
| Personal Freedom Index | 6.92 | 8.55 |
| Human Freedom Index | 6.78 | 8.39 |
| Property Rights Index | 58.4 | 81.8 |
| Judical Effectiveness Index | 38 | 83.7 |
| Business Freedom Index | 62 | 83.3 |
| Fiscal Health Index | 64 | 54.3 |
| Labor Freedom Index | 58.8 | 87.9 |
| Investment Freedom Index | 45 | 85 |
| Financial Freedom Index | 50 | 80 |
| Trade Freedom Index | 75.8 | 79.8 |
| Monetary Freedom Index | 75.9 | 75.5 |
| Government Spending Index | 67.4 | 56.5 |
| Tax Burden Index | 63.7 | 74.6 |
| Government Integrity Index | 46.6 | 77.2 |
| Corruption Perceptions Index | 43 | 71 |
| Life expectancy at birth, years | 63.5 | 78.5 |
| Suicide mortality rate, per 100,000 people | 11.6 | 15.3 |
| Mortality caused by road traffic injury, per 100,000 people | 25.9 | 12.4 |
| Intentional homicides, per 100,000 people | 35.9 | 5.3 |
| International tourism, number of arrivals | 10.5M | 79.7M |
Government debt & reserves
| Stat | South Africa | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Central government debt, % of GDP | 56.7% | 105.8% |
| External debt stocks, % of GNI | 50.6% | N/A |
| External debt stocks | $179.3B | N/A |
| Short-term debt, % of total reserves | 70.9% | N/A |
| Total debt service, % of exports and primary income | 19.9% | N/A |
| Adjusted net savings including particulate emission damage, % of GNI | 0.6% | 6.1% |
| Gross savings, % of GDP | 14.9% | 18.6% |
| Gross capital formation, % of GDP | 17.9% | 21% |
| Total reserves including gold | $51.6B | $449.9B |
| Foreign direct investment net inflows | $5.5B | $258.4B |
Exports, imports and economic structure
| Stat | South Africa | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Exports of goods and services, % of GDP | 29.9% | 12.2% |
| Imports of goods and services, % of GDP | 29.6% | 15.3% |
| Current account balance (balance of payments) | -$13.4B | -$491B |
| Revenue excluding grants, % of GDP | 30.9% | 17.2% |
| Grants excluding technical cooperation, BoP | $817.9M | N/A |
| Personal remittances received | $929M | $6.7B |
| Industry including construction value added, % of GDP | 25.9% | 18.2% |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added, % of GDP | 2.2% | 0.9% |
| Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments BoP | $1.8B | $56.1B |
| Charges for the use of intellectual property, receipts BoP | $120.7M | $128.7B |
| Expense, % of GDP | 34.4% | 22.4% |
| Government Expenditure, % of GDP | 33% | 38.1% |
