Country Profile

Despite being overtaken by Nigeria as the largest economy on the continent, South Africa is still number one in terms of income, with a GDP per capita of $6618 in 2013. The economy has been expanding at a substantially faster rate under democratic rule: between 1980 and 1994 average annual real GDP growth rates stood at 1.4%, whereas between 1998 and 2012 the figure was at 3.2%. South Africa is a constitutional democracy. Since 1994 there have been five general elections, all of which have been won by the ANC. In the most recent election, which took place in May 2014, the ANC won more than 62% of the vote, and Jacob Zuma, the party’s leader and the incumbent president, was re-elected.

This chapter contains interviews with President Jacob Zuma; Gao Hucheng, Chinese Minister of Commerce; and Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, OECD.