Economy and Infrastructure in South Africa - Term Paper Example

Similarly, the country’s GDP is continually increasing. In 2007, the country’s GDP rose by 5.1%. Analyzing the average income of the country reveals South Africa to be a moderately rich country with per capita GNP of US $5685 as per World Bank statement of fiscal year 2008. Thus, the country may be ranked as an upper-middle-income country. The South African economy is very much based on trade. More than 50% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated from trade. By adopting modern technologies for production purposes, the country’s products have become very competitive in the international market.

The country’s exports mainly include minerals, agricultural produce, machinery, vehicles, electric appliances and chemical products. Gold is one of the most important exports of the country. However, the exports of other goods and services consist of one-fourth of the country’s total GDP generating from trade sector. Other minerals and chemicals contribute more than 30% towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generating from this sector and the rest is contributed by other products such as tobacco, food, drinks as well as textiles.

Imports consist of machines, chemicals and plastic products. The industry of South Africa is making up 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. The industry sector includes quarrying and mining. The mining sector still plays an important part in the country’s economic progress. However, the country has lessened its economic reliance on mining and raw materials export, especially that of gold, over the few preceding years. The agriculture sector of the country, including forestry and fisheries, makes a very small contribution towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country which is only 5%.

However, it should be noticed that mining and agriculture is relatively more important for the economy of South Africa than the GDP figures shows. The reason behind it is that the