South Africa’s inflation has been quite stable for the past years, levelling off between 3.2 and 6.9 percent, and is in fact expected to stabilize at around 4.5 percent in the future. South Africa is a mixed economy, generating most of its GDP through the services sector, especially tourism. However, the country struggles with unemployment and poverty.

Inflation who?

The inflation rate of a country is an important key factor to determine the country’s economic strength. It is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket, containing goods and services on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include, for example, expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, utilities, but also recreational activities, and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. Some of these goods are more volatile than others – food prices, for example, are considered less reliable. The European Central Bank aims to keep inflation at around two percent in the long run.

What happened in 2016?

In 2016, South Africa’s inflation rate peaked at over 6.3 percent, and gross domestic product, and thus economic growth , took a hit, a sure indicator that something was affecting the country’s economic scaffolding: Low growth due to weak demand and an uncertain political future caused a crisis; then-President Jacob Zuma’s alleged mismanagement and unstable reign steeped in controversy and criminal charges even caused the economy’s outlook to be downgraded by ratings agencies. Zuma was relieved of his office in 2018 – ever since, inflation, GDP, and economic growth seem to have stabilized.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. The Laspeyres formula is generally used.

The latest inflation rate, i.e. the percent change in the CPI from a year ago to now, in South Africa was 2.46 percent. That number was released in . It shows a decrease from the inflation rate in the previous month when it stood at 2.53 percent. Compared to a year ago, we see a decrease from...

The average inflation rate in Southern Africa was projected at seven percent in 2022. This represented a decrease in comparison to the previous years. In 2020, the rate reached a peak at 12 percent.

Inflation Expectations in South Africa decreased to 4.30 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from 4.50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - South Africa Inflation Expectations- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

As of April 2022, the food inflation rate in South Africa stood at six percent compared to the same month last year. Food prices have been following a fluctuating increasing trend. For instance, food inflation was at 2.9 percent in January 2019, whereas by April 2022 it amounted to six percent.

This dataset provides values for INFLATION RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Inflation across Sub-Saharan Africa has regularly fluctuated since the year 2000. In 2023, it is estimated that inflation had reached 17.58 percent, marking the largest annual change since the 2008 recession; however it is estimated that inflation will fall steadily in the coming years.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index: OECD Groups: All Items Non-Food Non-Energy: Total for South Africa (CPGRLE01ZAQ657N) from Q2 2002 to Q3 2023 about South Africa, core, all items, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, and price.

Core Inflation Rate MoM in South Africa increased to 0.20 percent in January from 0 percent in December of 2024. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for South Africa Core Inflation Rate MoM.

In 2024, Zambia had the highest estimated inflation (Consumer Price Index) recorded in Southern Africa, at 15 percent. Lesotho and Zimbabwe followed with 6.4 and six percent, respectively.

South Africa ZA: Inflation:(GDP) Gross Domestic ProductDeflator: Linked Series data was reported at 5.537 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.774 % for 2016. South Africa ZA: Inflation:(GDP) Gross Domestic ProductDeflator: Linked Series data is updated yearly, averaging 7.555 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.652 % in 1991 and a record low of 5.121 % in 2015. South Africa ZA: Inflation:(GDP) Gross Domestic ProductDeflator: Linked Series data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank.WDI: Inflation. Inflation as measured by the annual growth rate of the GDP implicit deflator shows the rate of price change in the economy as a whole. This series has been linked to produce a consistent time series to counteract breaks in series over time due to changes in base years, source data and methodologies. Thus, it may not be comparable with other national accounts series in the database for historical years.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on World Bank national accounts data archives, OECD National Accounts, and the IMF WEO database.; ;

Zimbabwe had the highest inflation in Africa as of 2023. The rate reached roughly 172 percent when compared to the previous year, according to the source's estimates. This was followed by Sudan, with a rate increase of over 71 percent. Inflationary pressures in the country have been driven by a long-running economic crisis and political instability. By the end of 2021, the already fragile Sudanese economy suffered again when military forces took control of the government. With a

Consumer Price Index CPI in South Africa increased to 101.20 points in February from 100.30 points in January of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - South Africa Consumer Price Index (CPI) - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

As of June 2020, the projected inflation rate in South Africa for the same year was revised to 5.2 percent, after the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak. The projection was done under the assumption of a worst-case scenario, where the pandemic persists to the end of 2020. Before the occurrence of COVID-19, the inflation rate was expected at 4.7 percent.

On the other hand, the inflation rate for 2021 was reviewed to 4.6 percent, in a worst-case scenario, whereas the previous outlook (before the pandemic) was at five percent.

The aim is to forecast the chief components of inflation (such as changes in fuel prices, food prices and prices of durable goods) for the USA, UK and South Africa, and to test whether the weighted sum of the component forecasts gives a more accurate overall forecast for inflation, than simply forecasting overall inflation itself. In the long run, the ratios of these prices to the overall consumer price index have altered because of technological changes and globalization, among other factors. For example, the prices of internationally traded consumer goods have fallen relative to prices of services. By building separate models for the components, the long-run information in the data and specific economic features likely to drive each component can be exploited. These models will test for asymmetries, such as the tendency of petrol prices to respond faster to rises than to falls in oil prices. The models should help better understand the causes of overall inflation through understanding the inflation trends of the underlying sectors. Modelling the components separately should also highlight where interest rate policy could be effective, and where other policies such as competition policy or price regulation might have complementary benefits.

Inflationsraten i Sydafrika steg til 3,20 procent i januar fra 3 procent i december 2024. Aktuelle værdier, historiske data, prognoser, statistik, diagrammer og økonomisk kalender - Sydafrika - Inflation-Rate.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Indices (CPIs, HICPs), COICOP 1999: Consumer Price Index: All Items Non-Food Non-Energy for South Africa (CPGRLE01ZAQ659N) from Q1 2003 to Q4 2024 about South Africa, core, all items, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, and price.

Canada Core Inflation Nowcast: sa: Contribution: Foreign Exchange Rates: Foreign Exchange Rate: Daily Average: South African Rand data was reported at 11.211 % in 10 Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 11.211 % for 03 Mar 2025. Canada Core Inflation Nowcast: sa: Contribution: Foreign Exchange Rates: Foreign Exchange Rate: Daily Average: South African Rand data is updated weekly, averaging 0.365 % from Jan 2018 (Median) to 10 Mar 2025, with 375 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 32.224 % in 19 Aug 2024 and a record low of 0.000 % in 16 Dec 2024. Canada Core Inflation Nowcast: sa: Contribution: Foreign Exchange Rates: Foreign Exchange Rate: Daily Average: South African Rand data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Canada – Table CA.CEIC.NC: CEIC Nowcast: Inflation: Core.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Indices (CPIs, HICPs), COICOP 1999: Consumer Price Index: All Items Non-Food Non-Energy for South Africa (CPGRLE01ZAM659N) from Jan 2003 to Dec 2024 about South Africa, core, all items, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, and price.