South Africa's changes in inventories (current LCU) was -581.9 million in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 102.11% from 27.6 billion in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -581.9 million | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | -80.82 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 27.6 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 99.31 billion | 2022 |
| Lowest | -80.82 billion | 2020 |
| Average since 2016 | 2.07 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 116 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, South Africa's changes in inventories (current LCU) rose 32.66 billion on 2024 (from -33.25 billion to -581.9 million).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −1.38 billion and a typical year strayed about 38.9 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 116.33 billion in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 100.61 billion in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, South Africa had the 86th highest value of the 109 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to South Africa in the 2025 ranking
- São Tomé and Principe — 82nd of 109: 15.59 million
- Cyprus — 83rd of 109: -282.7 million
- El Salvador — 84th of 109: -311.09 million
- Lithuania — 86th of 109: -592.47 million
- Slovak Republic — 87th of 109: -612.32 million
- Croatia — 88th of 109: -1.07 billion
What this measures
Changes in inventories is the value of entries into inventories less the value of withdrawals and less the value of any recurrent losses of goods held in inventories during the accounting period.This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.
All 66 values
| Year | Changes in inventories (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | -581,900,400 |
| 2024 | -33,246,699,500 |
| 2023 | 32,134,362,400 |
| 2022 | 99,307,000,400 |
| 2021 | -17,027,006,600 |
| 2020 | -80,816,694,000 |
| 2019 | 19,789,685,800 |
| 2018 | 13,322,996,100 |
| 2017 | 10,762,151,100 |
| 2016 | -22,895,900,000 |
Changes in inventories (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Angola — 15.59 billion (2024)
- Benin — 56.5 billion (2025)
- Botswana — 2.51 billion (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 74.62 billion (2025)
- Cameroon — 233.9 billion (2024)
- Central African Republic — -97.75 billion (2025)
- Chad — 495.84 billion (2025)
- Comoros — 7.91 billion (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 6.98 trillion (2025)
- Congo, Rep. — 28.87 billion (2025)
- Côte d'Ivoire
More economic policy & debt data for South Africa
- Trade in services (% of GDP) — 9.32% (2025)
- Communications, computer, etc. (% of service imports, BoP) — 44.9% (2025)
- Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) — US$20.32 billion (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$, BoP) — US$126.24 billion (2025)
- Insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) — 5.58% (2025)
- Goods imports (current US$, BoP) — US$104.47 billion (2025)
- Service imports (current US$, BoP) — US$21.77 billion (2025)
- Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$1.74 billion (2025)
- Imports of goods, services and primary income (current US$, BoP)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Africa's changes in inventories (current LCU)?
- -581.9 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 601.64% from 116 million in 1960. The highest value was 99.31 billion in 2022 and the lowest -80.82 billion in 2020.
- How does South Africa rank?
- 86th highest of 109 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in changes in inventories (current LCU) unusual for South Africa?
- In 2025, South Africa's changes in inventories (current LCU) rose 32.66 billion on 2024 (from -33.25 billion to -581.9 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −1.38 billion and a typical year strayed about 38.9 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.GDI.STKB.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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