South Africa's GNI, linked series (current LCU) was 7.5 trillion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 73.52% from 4.32 trillion in 2015 (5.67% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 7.5 trillion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 5.47 trillion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 4.32 trillion | 2015 |
| Highest | 7.5 trillion | 2025 |
| Lowest | 316.19 billion | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 6 trillion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 316.19 billion |
What the numbers say
In 2025, South Africa's GNI, linked series (current LCU) rose 4% on 2024 (from 7.21 trillion to 7.5 trillion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +9.1% and a typical year strayed about 3.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 17.4% in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.3% 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 327.32 billion a year. A straight line explains 98% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 8.39 trillion for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 290.39 billion, against 687.21 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2025, South Africa had the 63rd highest value of the 181 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
- Ukraine — 59th of 181: 8.86 trillion
- Congo, Rep. — 60th of 181: 8.5 trillion
- Czechia — 61st of 181: 8.19 trillion
- Dominican Republic — 63rd of 181: 7.42 trillion
- Togo — 64th of 181: 6.93 trillion
- Sweden — 65th of 181: 6.89 trillion
What this measures
Gross national income is the total income earned by all residents within an economic territory during an accounting period. It is equal to gross domestic product plus earned income receivable from abroad minus earned income payable abroad. This series has been linked to produce a consistent time series to counteract breaks in series over time due to changes in base years, source data and methodologies. Thus, it may not be comparable with other national accounts series in the database for historical years. 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 36 values
| Year | GNI, linked series (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 7,495,257,184,500 |
| 2024 | 7,207,887,483,600 |
| 2023 | 6,942,892,438,400 |
| 2022 | 6,528,137,963,800 |
| 2021 | 6,088,270,061,200 |
| 2020 | 5,470,164,340,700 |
| 2019 | 5,484,794,549,500 |
| 2018 | 5,213,409,430,700 |
| 2017 | 4,937,394,924,600 |
| 2016 | 4,637,597,544,700 |
GNI, linked series (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Angola — 124.05 trillion (2025)
- Benin — 14.13 trillion (2025)
- Botswana — 259.47 billion (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 15.13 trillion (2025)
- Burundi — 17.91 trillion (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 295.26 billion (2025)
- Cameroon — 33.76 trillion (2025)
- Central African Republic — 1.89 trillion (2025)
- Chad — 11.93 trillion (2025)
- Comoros — 796.16 billion (2025)
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
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 GNI, linked series (current LCU)?
- 7.5 trillion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 2,270% from 316.19 billion in 1990 (9.47% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 7.5 trillion in 2025 and the lowest 316.19 billion in 1990.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GNP.MKTP.CN.AD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); World Economic Outlook database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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