Economy of South Africa
Year
Gross Domestic Product
US Dollar Exchange
1980
62,730
0.77 Rand
1985
127,598
1.47 Rand
1990
289,816
2.58 Rand
1995
1,548,100
3.62 Rand
2000
922,148
6.93 Rand
2005
1,523,254
6.36 Rand
South Africa has a two-tiered economy; one
rivaling other developed countries and the
other with only the most basic infrastructure.
It is therefore a productive and industrialised
economy that exhibits many characteristics
associated with developing countries, includ-
ing a division of labour between formal and
informal sectors and an uneven distribution
of wealth and income. The primary sector,
based on manufacturing, services, mining,
and agriculture, is well developed.
South Africa’s transportation infrastruc-
ture is among the best in Africa, supporting
both domestic and regional needs. OR Tambo
International Airport serves as a hub for
flights to other Southern African and Interna-
tional countries. South Africa also has several
major ports that make it central point for
most trade in the Southern African region.
Brief history of the South
African economy
This is a chart of the trend of South Africa’s
gross domestic product at market prices es-
timated by the International Monetary Fund
with figures in millions of South African
Rand.[1]
The formal economy of South Africa has its
beginnings in the arrival of Dutch settlers in
1652, originally sent by the Dutch East India
Company to establish a provisioning station
for passing ships. As the colony increased in
size, with the arrival of French Huguenots
and German citizens, some of the colonists
were set free to pursue commercial farming,
leading to the dominance of agriculture in
the economy.
At the end of the 18th century, the British
gained control of the colony, imposing the
English language on the colonists, who were
now developing a culture of their own. This
in turn lead to the Great Trek, spreading
farming deeper into the mainland, as well as
the establishment of the independent Boer
Republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free
State.
In 1870 dia