South Africa

This section includes information about the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), which occupies a prominent position in South Africa’s economic landscape. Today the JSE is recognised as one of the world’s leading exchanges connecting buyers and sellers in five different financial markets, namely, equities, equity derivatives, commodity derivatives, currency derivatives and interest rate products....

This chapter outlines how South Africa’s well-capitalised banks have weathered the global economic crisis with aplomb, largely thanks to a robust regulatory environment. Rising competition and efforts to engage the large unbanked population have also helped the sector recover from the effects of the global downturn. At the close of 2011, the sector comprised 17 registered banks, two mutual banks...

South Africa’s GDP, which stood at R2.96trn ($362.3bn) in nominal terms in 2011, took a significant hit at the start of the global economic slowdown, contracting by 6.3% in the first quarter of 2009. Since then it has improved noticeably, with real growth rising to 2.9% in 2010 and to 3.1% in 2011. The country’s recovery from the recession has resulted primarily from domestic consumption, both...

South Africa is a parliamentary representative democratic republic, wherein the elected president exercises executive power and acts as both head of state and head of government. Legislative power is wielded by both the government and two chambers of parliament, the National Assembly (the lower house) and the Council of Provinces (the upper house). The judiciary operates as an independent arm of...

This section outlines South Africa’s history, culture, geography and economy.