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 2026.11.04 · 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 2026.10.27), United Kingdom 7 (list of 2026.11.03).
- 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
- African National Congress ANC 159
- Progressive Caucus PC 100
- Democratic Alliance DA 87
- Inkatha Freedom Party IFP 17
- Patriotic Alliance PA 9
- Freedom Front Plus VF+ 6
- ActionSA 6
- United Democratic Movement UDM 3
- African Christian Democratic Party ACDP 3
- Al Jama-ah 2
- Rise Mzansi RISE 2
- Build One South Africa BOSA 2
3 more groups
- Cape Coloured Congress NCC 2
- Good 1
- Pan Africanist Congress of Azania PAC 1
Composition · Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · 2026.11.04
Conseil national des Provinces
90 seats
Inception 1997
- African National Congress ANC 43
- Economic Freedom Fighters EFF 10
- UMkhonto we Sizwe MK 9
- Freedom Front Plus VF+ 2
- Inkatha Freedom Party IFP 2
- Patriotic Alliance PA 2
- United Democratic Movement UDM 1
- ActionSA 1
Composition · Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · 2026.11.04
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 · 2026-11-04
Upcoming
-
2029
Parliament and indirect presidential election
Last election
-
2024-05-29
Parliament
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 7,560 times a day (French and English). On 2026.11.03: 7,374, or ×1.0.
French + English French usual level 2026.08.06 · 2026.11.03 Wikimedia statistics (CC0), human users
Sources and freshness
- Executive, government, parliament, anthem · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-11-04
- 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 2026-11-04
- Memberships · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-11-04
- Political calendar · Institute and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · 2026-11-04
- Sanctions · US Treasury (OFAC), SDN and non-SDN lists · list of 2026-10-27 · read on 2026-11-04
- Sanctions · United Kingdom, UK Sanctions List (FCDO) · list of 2026-11-03 · read on 2026-11-04
- Sanctions · European Union, consolidated financial sanctions list · list of 2026-10-23 · read on 2026-11-04
- Institute dossier (sanctions, treaties, visits, capabilities) · as of 2026-05-01