Here’s what contributed to South Africa’s economic decline
The mining and quarrying industry recorded the largest decrease.
South Africa's economy contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2026, following a period of growth. The decline was attributed to several industries, with the mining and quarrying sector experiencing the most significant drop of 3.0%, contributing -0.1 percentage point. Other key contributors to the decline were the trade, catering and accommodation industry (-1.9%, -0.2 percentage points), and the manufacturing industry (-1.8%, -0.2 percentage points).
On the positive side, the finance, real estate and business services sector grew by 0.3%, adding 0.1 percentage point to the GDP. Additionally, the transport, storage and communication industry expanded by 0.9%, contributing 0.1 percentage point to the overall GDP growth.
However, household final consumption expenditure rose by 0.4%, partially offsetting the negative growth. The main drivers of this increase were higher expenditures on food and non-alcoholic beverages, various goods and services, and higher education and provincial government spending. Conversely, expenditures on housing, energy, transportation, and clothing experienced declines, contributing to the overall negative growth.
Despite the economic contraction, net exports had a relatively minor negative impact (-1.1 percentage points) on GDP. Exports of goods and services grew by 0.9%, driven by increased trade in pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, precious metals, chemicals, live animals, and paper products. Conversely, imports of goods and services increased by 4.9%, primarily due to higher trade in machinery, electrical equipment, mineral products, and artificial resins and plastics.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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