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We take a look at the growth rate of the various industry types within the South African economy. There are three main industry types. They are:
So which of these has shown the most amount of growth over the last couple of years. Read on to find out. |
One of South Africa's big primary industries, Mining
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Growth per industry type
Before we take a look at the growth rates of the three main industry types mentioned above, we will provide more detail on what exactly falls under each of the industries mentioned, after which we will take a look at the growth rates achieved by the various industries.
Primary Industries:
Agriculture
Forestry
Fishing
Mining and quarrying of which the major compontents are
Secondary Industries:
Manufacturing
Construction
Tertiary industries:
Trade
Transport
Storage
Communication
Finance and insurance
Real estate
Business Services
General government services
So now that we have a better understanding of what lies within South Africa's main industry types, lets take a look at the quarter on quarter growth rates achieved by the various industries over time as represented on the line graph below.
Primary Industries:
Agriculture
Forestry
Fishing
Mining and quarrying of which the major compontents are
- Coal
- Gold
- Platinum group metals (PGM)
- Other ores and mining and quarrying
Secondary Industries:
Manufacturing
- Food, beverages and tobacco
- Textiles, clothing and leather goods
- Wood and paper
- Petroleum products
- Other non-metal mineral products
- Metals, metal products and machinery and equipment
- Radia's, TV, instruments, watches and clocks
- Transport equipment
- Furniture and other manufacturing
Construction
Tertiary industries:
Trade
- Wholesale trade
- Retail trade
- Motor trade
Transport
Storage
Communication
Finance and insurance
Real estate
Business Services
General government services
- Central government
- Provincial government
- Local government
So now that we have a better understanding of what lies within South Africa's main industry types, lets take a look at the quarter on quarter growth rates achieved by the various industries over time as represented on the line graph below.
The first thing readers will notice in the line chart above is the fact that the primary industries growth rates are a lot more volatile than that of the secondary industries. It has significant declines in its growth rates and massive jumps in its quarterly growth rates. Secondary industries, while a lot less volatile than primary industries still shows volatility and volatility far greater than tertiary industries. Tertiary industries growth rate is the most stable of all the industry types. Sadly for South Africans there is a large dependence on the primary industries (especially in terms of employment). And the volatility exhibited on the growth rate of the primary industries makes predicting economic growth, future levels of employment in this industry very hard. The average growth rate achieved by the various industry types since quarter 1: 2015 are as follows:
Primary: -0.5%
Secondary: 0.2%
Tertiary: 1.2%
So from the above it is clear that the main driver of South Africa's economic growth since the start of 2015 has been the tertiary industries, while on the graphic it shows its the least volatile, it is also the fastest growing of the industries when looked at over time. South Africa needs to lessen its dependence on the primary industries to provide economic growth and employment and focus on further developing the secondary and tertiary industries to be future drivers of growth and employment in South Africa.
Primary: -0.5%
Secondary: 0.2%
Tertiary: 1.2%
So from the above it is clear that the main driver of South Africa's economic growth since the start of 2015 has been the tertiary industries, while on the graphic it shows its the least volatile, it is also the fastest growing of the industries when looked at over time. South Africa needs to lessen its dependence on the primary industries to provide economic growth and employment and focus on further developing the secondary and tertiary industries to be future drivers of growth and employment in South Africa.