[imagesource:unsplash/jacquesnel]

South Africa’s economy has long been one of the biggest on the African continent and 2024 is expected to be a successful year with further growth. Forecasted by the South African Reserve Bank, it is expected there will be 1.2% growth this year followed by 1.3% growth the next. Although issues such as electricity shortages have affected the country in the past couple of years, the economy has still showed positive signs. With this in mind, this article will look at which industries that contribute to this success.

iGaming

According to Statista, the online gambling industry in South Africa is worth over $320 million and is expected to grow by 6% for the next half-decade. This sector of the economy encompasses traditional casino games as well as sports betting. On the sports betting side, growth has been powered by technology which has allowed, among other things, an increase in instant betting and in-game promotions, with markets much more reactive to games as they play out.
On the casino side of things, many companies offer slot promotions, which give new users the chance to sign up and receive free spins or deposits they can use on a range of games. With an increasingly connected population in South Africa as well as increased disposable income, forecasts of growth for the coming years seem accurate.

Agriculture

The agriculture industry employs over 8 million South Africans, or almost 13% of the population. They work across sectors, from forestry and fishing to fruit and wine farming as well as natural fibers. Although faced with many difficulties in 2023, the sector still managed to produce over $10 billion in exports, and 2024 promises further growth too. With such unpredictability as the weather system ‘El Nino‘, forecast to be especially damaging this year, as well as national elections on the horizon, whether agriculture performs as strongly as expected remains to be seen.

Tourism

Maybe an unsurprising entry on this list, South Africa can count itself lucky to have the climate, coastline, scenery, wildlife, the most UNESCO heritage sites on the continent, and food and drink that attract tourists from all over the world. Although tourist numbers dipped, Statssa reports that 3.5 million visitors came to the shores in December 2023. This number is expected to be even higher in 12 months. Adding billions of dollars to the economy annually, the sector employs 9% of the country’s total workers and accounts for 8% of the total economy.

At the moment, South Africa has a larger economy than both Nigeria and Egypt, with a GDP of $401 billion. However, the next few years will be a test to remain at the top. Nigeria relies heavily on oil exports and, as such, is at the mercy of oil prices; however, it has a rapidly growing economy. On the northern coast of the continent, Egypt benefits from its close proximity to the Middle East and Europe and has shown strong performance in the past decade. At the moment, signs for South Africa and its economy are positive, meaning it may be able to hold on to the top spot in the GDP rankings for the forseeable future.

[images:unsplash]