Describe the various industries in South
Africa .
Answers
Answer:
The economy of South Africa is the third largest in Africa.[22] As a manufacturing hub, it is the most industrialized, technologically advanced, and diversified economy on the African continent.[23] South Africa is an upper-middle-income economy, one of only eight such countries in Africa.[24] Since 1996, at the end of over twelve years of international sanctions, South Africa's Gross Domestic Product almost tripled to peak at $400 billion in 2011, but has since declined to roughly $385 billion in 2019. In the same period, foreign exchange reserves increased from $3 billion to nearly $50 billion creating a diversified economy with a growing and sizable middle class, within two decades of ending apartheid.[25][26]:chapter 1 South African state owned enterprises play a significant role in the country's economy with the government owning a share in around 700 SOEs involved in a wide array of important industries. In 2016 the top five challenges to doing business in the country were inefficient government bureaucracy, restrictive labour regulations, a shortage of skilled workers for some high tech industries, political instability, and corruption, whilst the country's strong banking sector was rated as a strongly positive feature of the economy.[27][28] The nation is among the G20, and is the only African member of the group.[29]
Economy of
South Africa
SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET : MAIN SECTORS
South Africa is rich in mineral resources. The country is the world's largest producer and exporter of gold, platinum, chrome and manganese, the second largest palladium producer and the fourth largest producer of diamonds - with mining rents accounting for around 2.4% of GDP (World Bank, Latest available data), a similar share to manufacturing. Platinum and coal are now both larger contributors to mining output than gold. It produces 80% of the world's platinum and has 60% of the world's coal reserves. Coal plays a vital role as an energy source and contributes significantly to the economy, both through the generation of export revenue and employment. Important oil and gas reserves are thought to be situated off-coast, in the Indian Ocean. South Africa has diverse manufacturing industries and is a world leader in several specialised sectors, including railway rolling stock, synthetic fuels, mining equipment and machinery. The industrial sector employs nearly one-fourth of the workforce (22.7%) and represents 26% of the country's GDP.
Agriculture represents a small part of the country's GDP (1.9%) and employs 5% of the country's workforce, which is relatively low compared to other African countries. South Africa's agricultural economy is highly diversified and market-oriented. The country is the world's sixth largest producer of wine and the continent's largest corn and sugar producer. Grains and cereals - such as maize, wheat, barley and soya beans - are the county's most important crops. As such, the country produces all major grains - with the exception of rice.
The services sector is flourishing. It employs 72.3% of the workforce and represents 61.2% of the country's GDP. The major sectors of the economy are finance, real estate and business services, followed by general government services. South Africa has a sophisticated financial structure with an active stock exchange that ranks among the world's top 20 in terms of market capitalisation. The tourism sector has struggled to capitalise on the boost it received from the FIFA World Cup in 2010, whilst benefiting from the weakness of the rand and visa facilitation. According to the department of statistics of South Africa, tourism contributed 2,7% to South Africa’s GDP in 2018 and provided jobs for 4,5% of the country’s total employed.