South Africa The economy of South Africa is the largest in Africa, accounts for 24% of its Gross Domestic

Product in terms of PPP, and is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank, which makes the country one of only four countries in Africa represented in this category (the others being Botswana, Gabon and Mauritius). About a quarter of the population is unemployed and about the same proportion lives on less than US $1.25 a day.South Africa has a comparative advantage in the production of agriculture, mining and manufacturing products relating to these sectors. South Africa has shifted from a primary and secondary economy in the mid-twentieth century to an economy driven primarily by the tertiary sector in the present day which accounts for an estimated 65% of GDP or $230 billion in nominal GDP terms. The countrys economy is reasonably diversified with key economic sectors including mining, agriculture and fishery, vehicle manufacturing and assembly, food-processing, clothing and textiles, telecommunication, energy, financial and business services, real estate, tourism, transportation, and wholesale and retail trade. South Africa suffers from relatively heavy overall regulation burden compared to developed countries. State ownership and interference impose high barriers to entry in many areas. The unemployment rate is very high at over 25%, and the poor have limited access to economic opportunities and basic services. Restrictive labour regulations have contributed to the unemployment malaise. The high levels of unemployment and inequality are considered by the government and most South Africans to be the most salient economic problems facing the country. These issues, and others linked to them such as crime, have in turn hurt investment and growth, consequently having a negative feedback effect on employment. Crime is considered a major or very severe constraint on investment by 30% of enterprises in South Africa, putting crime among the four most frequently mentioned constraints. Natural resources Mining has been the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 by Erasmus Jacobs and the subsequent discovery and exploitation of the Kimberley pipes a few years later. Gold rushes to Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton were precursors to the biggest discovery of all, the Main Reef/Main Reef Leader on Gerhardus Oosthuizen's farm Langlaagte, Portion C, in 1886, the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the subsequent rapid development of the gold field there, the biggest of them all.South Africa is one of the worlds leading mining and mineral-processing countries. Though mining's contribution to the national GDP has fallen from 21% in 1970 to 6% in 2011, it still represents almost 60% of exports. The mining sector accounts for up to 9% of value added.In 2008, South Africas estimated share of world platinum production amounted to 77%; kyanite and other materials, 55%; chromium, 45%; palladium, 39%; vermiculite, 39%; vanadium, 38%; zirconium, 30%; manganese, 21%; rutile, 20%; ilmenite, 19%; gold, 11%; fluorspar, 6%; aluminium, 2%; antimony, 2%; iron ore, 2%; nickel, 2%; and phosphate rock, 1%.South Africa also accounted for nearly 5% of the worlds polished diamond production by value. The countrys estimated share of world reserves of platinum group metals amounted to 89%; hafnium, 46%; zirconium, 27%; vanadium, 23%; manganese, 19%; rutile, 18%;

fluorspar, 18%; gold, 13%; phosphate rock, 10%; ilmenite, 9%; and nickel, 5%.It is also the world's third largest coal exporter. Agriculture and food processing The agricultural industry contributes around 10% of formal employment, relatively low compared to other parts of Africa, as well as providing work for casual labourers and contributing around 2.6% of GDP for the nation.[30] However, due to the aridity of the land, only 13.5% can be used for crop production, and only 3% is considered high potential land.[31] The sector continues to face problems, with increased foreign competition and crime being two of the major challenges for the industry. The government has been accused of either putting in too much effort,[32] or not enough effort,[33] to tackle the problem of farm attacks as opposed to other forms of violent crime.Maize production, which contributes to a 36% majority of the gross value of South Africas field crops, has also experienced negative effects due to climate change.[citation needed] The estimated value of loss, which takes into consideration scenarios with and without the carbon dioxide fertilisation effect,[34] ranges between tens and hundreds of millions of Rands.[35]According to FAOSTAT, South Africa is one of world's largest producers of: chicory roots (4th); grapefruit (4th); cereals (5th); green maize and maize (7th); castor oil seed (9th); pears (9th); sisal (10th); fibre crops (10th).[36] In the first quarter of 2010, the agricultural sector earned export revenues for R10.1 billion and used R8.4 billion to pay for imported agricultural products, therefore earning a positive trade balance of R1.7 billion.[37]The most important agricultural exports of South Africa include: edible fruit and nuts, beverages, preserved food, tobacco, cereals, wool not carded or combed, miscellaneous food, sugar, meat, milling products, malt and starch.[37] These products accounted for over 80% of agricultural export revenue in the first quarter of 2010.[37] The most important agricultural imports, which accounted for over 60% of agricultural import value during the same period, include: cereals, meat, soya-bean oil cake, beverages, soya-bean oil and its fractions, tobacco, palm oil and its fractions, miscellaneous food, spices, coffee, tea, and preserved food.[37]The dairy industry consists of around 4,300 milk producers providing employment for 60,000 farm workers and contributing to the livelihoods of around 40,000 others.[38]The food sub-sector is the largest employer within the agroprocessing sector contributing 1.4% to total employment, and 11.5% within the manufacturing sector.[39] In 2006, the agro-processing sector represented 24.7% of the total manufacturing output.[39] Although the economy as a whole gained 975,941 jobs between 1995 and 2006, the agro-processing sector lost 45,977 jobs.[39] The competitive pressures from abroad, particularly from China and India, played a role in the decline of exports for the food, textiles and paper subsectors, as firms in these sectors increasingly compete with lower cost producers.[39] Increased exports from the beverages, tobacco, wood and leather sub-sectors over the period are probably due to the presence of large dominant firms within these sectors in South Africa, that have managed to remain competitive.

Service industry The domestic telecommunications infrastructure provides modern and efficient service to urban areas, including cellular and internet services. In 1997, Telkom, the South African telecommunications parastatal, was partly privatised and entered into a strategic equity partnership with a consortium of two companies, including SBC, a U.S. telecommunications company. In exchange for exclusivity (a monopoly) to provide certain services for 5 years, Telkom assumed an obligation to facilitate network modernisation and expansion into the unserved areas. A Second Network Operator was to be licensed to compete with Telkom across its spectrum of services in 2002, although this license was only officially handed over in late 2005 and has recently begun operating under the name, Neotel. Five cellular companies provide service to over 20 million subscribers, with South Africa considered to have the 4th most advanced mobile telecommunications network worldwide. The five major cellular providers are Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, 8ta (owned by the parastatal, Telkom) and Virgin Mobile. South Africa is a popular tourist destination, with around 860,000 arrivals per month (March 2008) of which around 210,000 is from outside the African continent.[43] A revenue equalling between 1% and 3% of GDP is generated by the tourism industry.[44] Among the main attractions are the diverse and picturesque culture, the game reserves and the highly regarded local wines.