South Africa GDP shrank 1.3 percent in the final three months of 2022 to return below pre-pandemic levels as record power shortages hit activity, official data showed Tuesday.
“After rallying in the third quarter of 2022, South African gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter,” the national statistics agency StatsSA said, adding that “GDP fell below pre-pandemic levels”.
The trade and finance sectors were the biggest contributors to the economy’s decline.
The slump compares to the 1.6 percent seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter growth rate from July through September.
Growth in Africa’s most industrialized country was weighed down in the final quarter by unprecedented levels of power outages. Only two days were spared the staggered blackouts during the last three months of last year.
State-owned energy firm Eskom, saddled with constantly breaking down generating plants, is failing to meet demand.
South Africa GDP was badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which amplified joblessness and poverty, in one of the world’s most unequal countries.
BREAKING NEWS | According to Stats SA, South Africa’s #economy shrank by 1,3% in the fourth quarter of 2022, meaning the #GDP fell below pre-pandemic levels. pic.twitter.com/s8WaeWNoVr
— SABC News (@SABCNews) March 7, 2023
