South Africa: Gross capital formation (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, South Africa's gross capital formation (current US$) rose 5% on 2024 (from US$56.44 billion to US$59.26 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 18.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 64.4% in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 33.9% in 1985. 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 less than 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 44th highest value of the 130 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

• Portugal — 40th of 130: US$72.92 billion
• Finland — 41st of 130: US$69.44 billion
• Peru — 42nd of 130: US$68.11 billion
• Pakistan — 44th of 130: US$58.17 billion
• Morocco — 45th of 130: US$58.12 billion
• Hungary — 46th of 130: US$54.6 billion

What this measures

Gross capital formation includes acquisitions less disposals of produced assets for purposes of fixed capital formation, inventories or valuables. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 66 values

Gross capital formation (current US$) in nearby economies

• Angola — US$10.97 billion (2024)
• Benin — US$8.8 billion (2025)
• Botswana — US$5.81 billion (2025)
• Burkina Faso — US$4.76 billion (2025)
• Cabo Verde — US$532.06 million (2025)
• Cameroon — US$11.4 billion (2025)
• Central African Republic — US$285.28 million (2025)
• Chad — US$4.37 billion (2025)
• Comoros — US$214.98 million (2025)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$28.81 billion (2025)

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

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's gross capital formation (current US$)?

US$59.26 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 3,404% from US$1.69 billion in 1960 (5.62% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$86.39 billion in 2011 and the lowest US$1.69 billion in 1960.

How does South Africa rank?

44th highest of 130 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in gross capital formation (current US$) unusual for South Africa?

In 2025, South Africa's gross capital formation (current US$) rose 5% on 2024 (from US$56.44 billion to US$59.26 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 18.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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.TOTL.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); 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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