South Africa
South Africa's inflation, growth, bond yields and the rand, with US goods trade with South Africa and cargo through its ports, each sourced and dated.
Figures checked . Each one names its source and the period it covers.
The latest figures
Inflation2025
3.2%
a year, annual average
World Bank, World Development Indicators
OECD's monthly series stopped at January 2025, so this is the latest annual figure.
Matches IMF, World Economic Outlook for 2025
Economic growthQ2 2026
0.9
real GDP, % on a year earlier
OECD · 103 days since the period ended
One source: no second publisher of this figure is available
Unemployment2025
32.4%
of the labour force, ILO modelled estimate
World Bank, World Development Indicators
The World Bank's figure is the ILO's modelled estimate, not a national survey.
Matches IMF, World Economic Outlook for 2025
10-year government bond yieldAugust 2026
8.75%
OECD via FRED · 41 days since the period ended
One source: no second publisher of this figure is available
Rand per US dollar9 October 2026
16.53
ZAR per USD
Federal Reserve via FRED · latest from European Central Bank
Matches European Central Bank for 5 October 2026
Goods trade with the United States
US imports from South Africa12 months
$11.8bn
-33.8% on the previous 12 months
US exports to South Africa12 months
$6.6bn
+7.1% on the previous 12 months
US goods balance12 months
−$5.2bn
The US buys more from South Africa than it sells there
September 2025 to August 2026, US$, not seasonally adjusted. Source: US Census Bureau via FRED (IMP7910, EXP7910). These are the US's own customs records, so they measure trade from the American side.
Cargo through its ports
Imports by sea30 days
-13.2%
on the same 30 days a year earlier
Exports by sea30 days
-7.5%
on the same 30 days a year earlier
Port calls30 days
-9.3%
on the same 30 days a year earlier
30 days to 2 October 2026. AIS-based estimates of cargo through the economy's ports; percentage changes only, per PortWatch's terms. Source: IMF PortWatch, https://portwatch.imf.org.
The IMF's figures and projections
| IMF World Economic Outlook | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real GDP growth, % | 1.1 | 1 | 1.3 |
| Inflation, annual average % | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.4 |
Source: IMF DataMapper, World Economic Outlook, as published when these figures were checked. A year is marked as the IMF's projection until the World Bank publishes an actual figure for it. TradeTurbulence makes no forecasts of its own here.
How these figures are checked
Every figure is fetched from the publisher named under it, once a day. Where a second publisher reports the same figure for the same period, the two are compared: "Matches" means they agree within rounding; "Sources differ" shows both values and we do not choose between them. Annual figures carry their year, because they are a year or more behind.