ZAF · Southern Africa
South Africa
Most diversified economy on the continent, vocal BRICS member. Government of National Unity coalition in place since 2024.
Data refreshed on 2026.10.08 · source: Wikidata
The Institute's composite reading
Vigilance
3.6 /10 risk
- Security 0.0
- Legitimacy 6.9
- Economy 4.0
- Diplomacy 7.9
- Influence 3.4
Security: 0 stable → 10 unstable · others: 0 weak → 10 strong. Computed from V-Dem, FH, CPI, RSF, World Bank, SIPRI, sanctions.
Listings linked to the country by nationality or address: United States 52 (list of 2026.10.02), United Kingdom 7 (list of 2026.10.07).
- Capital
- Pretoria (administrative)
- Population
- 60,000,000 inh.
- Area
- 1,219,090 km²
- Currency
- ZAR
- Regime
- Parliamentary republic
Executive in office
Head of State
Cyril Ramaphosa
Government in office 3 members
Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
Barbara Creecy
Minister of Police
Bheki Cele
ministère des Ressources minérales
Gwede Mantashe
Parliament
Assemblée nationale
400 seats
Conseil national des Provinces
90 seats
Inception 1997
Economic indicators World Bank · 2025
GDP
427 G$
GDP / capita
6,598 $
Growth
1.1 %
Inflation
3.2 %
Unemployment
32.4 %
Debt / GDP
82.8 %
Defense / GDP
0.7 %
Life expectancy
66.3 yrs
Nuclear posture
Ancien État détenteur (démantelé)
Seul État ayant volontairement démantelé son arsenal (1991)
Strategic chokepoints 1 control point(s)
- contrôle Cap de Bonne-Espérance Itinéraire alternatif si Suez bloqué — utilisé pendant crise mer Rouge
Governance indices V-Dem 2025 · Freedom House 2026 · CPI 2025 · RSF 2026
Democracy (V-Dem)
0.74/1
Freedoms (Freedom House)
81/100
Corruption (CPI)
41/100
Press freedom (RSF)
78/100
Military posture SIPRI · 2025
Global spending rank
#53
Annual budget
3.0 Md$
Defense effort
0.7 %PIB
Strategic minerals USGS · production / réserves mondiales
- #1 Platine 73 % 2024
- #1 Manganèse 33 % 2024
- #1 Chrome 41 % 2024
- #13 Or 3 % 2024
Trade dependencies OEC · UN Comtrade · 2023
Exports
109 Md$
Imports
110 Md$
Balance
-1 Md$
Top exports
- 19.0% Métaux précieux (Pt, Pd, Au) 21 Md$
- 9.0% Charbon 10 Md$
- 7.0% Minerai de fer 8 Md$
- 12.0% Voitures + pièces 13 Md$
Top imports
- 18.0% Pétrole raffiné + brut 20 Md$
- 8.0% Voitures + pièces 9 Md$
Export partners
-
Chine
11.5%
-
États-Unis
8.5%
-
Allemagne
7.0%
-
Royaume-Uni
5.5%
Import partners
-
Chine
21.0%
-
Allemagne
8.0%
-
États-Unis
6.5%
Diplomatic alignment UNGA 2020-2024 · Bailey-Strezhnev-Voeten
Vote concordance with each power at UN General Assembly.
-
USA
28%
-
GBR
28%
-
FRA
33%
-
DEU
33%
-
RUS
60%
-
CHN
67%
-
IND
71%
-
BRA
71%
Abstention: 25%
Key treaties UN Treaty Collection · IAEA · ICRC · OPCW
-
✓
NPT
-
✓
CTBT
-
✓
TPNW
-
✓
Rome Statute
-
✓
Genocide
-
✓
Geneva
-
✓
Ottawa Mine Ban
-
✓
Oslo Cluster Munitions
-
✓
Arms Trade Treaty
-
✓
Paris Agreement
Political calendar Institute · Wikipedia · 2026-10-08
Upcoming
-
2029
Législatives + présidentielle indirecte
Last election
-
2024-05-29
Législatives
ANC 40.2% (perte majorité historique) — coalition GNU avec DA, IFP, PA
Society · human UNDP HDI 2023 · World Bank · WID · UNHCR 2025
HDI
0.741/1
Top 10% (wealth)
65.4 %
Gini
54.1
Refugees hosted
55,177
Refugees originating
1,319
Disputed recognitions curé éditorial · UN Member States
Recognizes
- Palestine
- RASD Sahara
Does not recognize
- Kosovo
ZAF a déposé plainte CIJ contre Israël 2024
National anthem
Hymne national sud-africain
Alliances and organisations Institut · Wikidata
- BRICS
- G20
- Union africaine
- Commonwealth
- UN
- WTO
- SADC
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Global attention Wikipedia · 90 days
The country's Wikipedia article is usually read 7,596 times a day (French and English). On 2026.10.07: 7,063, or ×0.9.
French + English French usual level 2026.07.10 · 2026.10.07 Wikimedia statistics (CC0), human users
Sources and freshness
- Executive, government, parliament, anthem · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-10-08
- Economy · World Bank (CC BY 4.0) · 2025
- Indices and figures · V-Dem 2026 (OWID) · Freedom House 2026 (OWID) · Transparency International CPI 2025 · RSF 2026 · PNUD IDH 2025 (OWID) · Banque mondiale Gini 2022 · UNHCR 2025 · SIPRI 2026 (OWID) · read on 2026-10-08
- Memberships · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-10-08
- Political calendar · Institute and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · 2026-10-08
- Sanctions · US Treasury (OFAC), SDN and non-SDN lists · list of 2026-10-02 · read on 2026-10-08
- Sanctions · United Kingdom, UK Sanctions List (FCDO) · list of 2026-10-07 · read on 2026-10-08
- Sanctions · European Union, consolidated financial sanctions list · list of 2026-09-22 · read on 2026-10-08
- Institute dossier (sanctions, treaties, visits, capabilities) · as of 2026-05-01