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South Africa's economy is 4.9% larger after GDP rebasing

Published

Statistics South Africa rebased its GDP data and now puts GDP at current prices at R7 trillion for 2022, against R6.7 trillion reported before. Better counting of illegal mining and other unobserved activity drove much of the change.

Mining's contribution to the economy rose 12.5% after the rebasing. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said this was mainly due to better coverage of illegal mining. It said illegal mining has grown as the price of gold has soared.

The unobserved economy now makes up 8.7% of GDP, up from 7.3% before. The contribution of finance, real estate and business services rose 9.1%, the second-largest increase in sector weighting.

Key facts

Who
Statistics South Africa (statistics agency that published the rebased GDP data); Statistics SA (national statistics agency that revised GDP); Johann Els (chief economist at PSG Financial Services); Stephen Grootes (presenter, The Money Show)
What
Stats SA published rebased GDP data showing GDP at current prices of R7 trillion in 2022, compared with R6.7 trillion previously reported. Mining's contribution rose 12.5% mainly due to better coverage of illegal mining, and the unobserved economy's share rose to 8.7% from 7.3%.
When
29 October 2026
Where
Pretoria, South Africa
Status
Reported

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