JOHANNESBURG, Sep. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.8 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, lifted by manufacturing, official data showed on Tuesday.
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said seven out of 10 manufacturing divisions expanded, while trade, catering, and accommodation also contributed to the uptick.
"Amid challenging global economic conditions, these figures demonstrate the resilience of South Africa's economy. The government views this as a positive sign of the impact of ongoing initiatives aimed at stimulating growth, supporting local industries, and creating jobs," Nomonde Mnukwa, acting government spokesperson, said in a statement.
The construction sector contracted in the quarter, driven by weakness in residential and non-residential building activity, while transport, storage, and communication also weighed on GDP, Stats SA said.
Raymond Parsons, an economist at the North-West University Business School, said the challenge was to lift growth closer to the government of national unity's medium-term target of 3 percent.
"The GDP growth is still expected to be only about one percent for 2025 as a whole and is not good enough for South Africa's urgent socioeconomic needs," he said. "As high-frequency data in the third quarter of 2025 still seems mixed, there remain potential vulnerabilities in the present economic outlook."
