Sign in
Research link-chevron Created with Sketch.
link-chevron Created with Sketch. Products and Services link-chevron Created with Sketch.
link-chevron Created with Sketch. Products and Services
Economics link-chevron Created with Sketch.
FX Report
The Loop
Inside China
Insights & Strategy
Equities link-chevron Created with Sketch.
Equities Enablement Lab
Analysts
Analysts
Help and Support
Help and Support
Corporate and Investment Bank
Standard Bank Group
South Africa 21 July 2026

SA Provincial Chartbook

Shireen Darmalingam

  • This report compares the economies of SA's nine provinces, unpacking the trends in regional growth rates and contributions to SA's GDP. The latest official provincial GDP data is for 2024.
  • South Africa's economy has grown at a modest average rate of 0.9% per year since 2013, although performance has varied significantly across provinces. Gauteng has been the country's strongest-performing province, supported by the finance, real estate and business services, as well as transport and communication sectors. The Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have also been key contributors to national growth. Despite these gains, South Africa's labour market has continued to face structural challenges, characterised by persistently high unemployment and uneven employment trends across provinces.
  • This report highlights that Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, which together account for just short of two-thirds of national GDP, have been the main drivers of economic growth since 2013. Gauteng's economy expanded by 0.8% in 2024, following growth of 0.9% in 2023 and 2.8% in 2022, and averaged 0.9% per year over the decade. KwaZulu-Natal growth slipped to 0.4% in 2024, from 1.2% in 2023 and 1.0% in 2022, while averaging 0.8% over the period. The Western Cape recorded growth of 0.7% in 2024, down from 0.8% in 2023 and 3.1% in 2022, with average growth of 0.9% per year over the decade.
  • Although the major provinces have recorded similar average growth rates since 2013, the Western Cape has recently emerged as the strongest performer. In particular, growth has averaged 2.3% in the post-Covid period. A combination of structural, demographic and sectoral factors have supported growth in the province. By contrast, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga together account for 23.1% of GDP. GDP growth in the Eastern Cape contracted by 0.2% in 2024, after having increased by 0.7% in 2023 and 2.3% in 2024. The province recorded growth of 0.5% of the period. GDP growth in Limpopo averaged 0.6%, while growth in Mpumalanga averaged 0.5% over the period.
  • Employment increased by 2.2 million people between 2013 and 2025. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic caused employment to fall to a decade low of 14.1 million, then recovering by roughly 2.6 million jobs. Labour market conditions remain challenging, with the Eastern Cape (44.6%), Free State (37.8%) and Mpumalanga (36.3%) recording the highest unemployment rates, well above the national average of 32.7%. In contrast, the Western Cape (19.6%) and Northern Cape (30.4%) have the lowest unemployment rates. Notably, the Western Cape is the only province where the unemployment rate has declined since 2013.
  • Formal employment has grown by 12.0% since 2013, while informal employment is up by a massive 42.5% since 2013 (latest formal and informal data used: Q2:25). Formal employment is the highest in Gauteng, at 34.1% (as a % of total formal employment in SA), from 36% a decade ago. The highest growth rates in formal employment since 2013 have been in Limpopo, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. Informal employment in the Western Cape (accounting for 10% of total informal employment) is up by a staggering 52.2% since 2013. Informal employment remained largely steady in Gauteng.
 

Read PDF