Saudi Arabia-South Africa Economic Relations
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Saudi Arabia-South Africa Economic Relations
South Africa Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Area: 1,221,037 km2 approximately. Area: 2 million km2 approximately.
Capital: Pretoria Capital: Riyadh
Located in South West Asia. KSA is bordered
Located in Southernmost Africa. It is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, by Iraq and Jordan in the North; Kuwait in the North East; Qatar, United Arab Emirates Location: Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland. Location: It surrounds the kingdom of Lesotho. and Bahrain in the East; Yemen and Oman in the South East, and the Red Sea in the West.
Political Political Federal Republic Monarchy System: System: Head of Head of State: Jacob Zuma King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud State: Language English, Zulu Language Arabic
Population: 55.8 mn approximately (2016 estimate) Population: 32 mn approximately (2016 estimate)
ccTLD: . ZA ccTLD .SA
Currency: South African rand ( ZAR 1 = SAR 0.262) Currency: Saudi Riyal (SAR 1 = ZAR 3.80) Saudi-South African Diplomatic Relations: 1. Saudi Arabia has official representation in South Africa; the Saudi Embassy in Pretoria. 2. South Africa has official representation in Saudi Arabia; the South African Embassy in Riyadh; South African Consulate General in Jeddah. 3. The Saudi-South African Committee, led by Ministry of Commerce and Investment (KSA side). Saudi-South African Agreements: 1- The Saudi-South African Business Council. 2- The agreement on avoidance of double taxation between Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Economic Indicators:
Indicators Country 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 KSA 429 527 670 734 744 752 649 GDP at Current Prices (Bn US$) SOUTH AFRICA 297 375 417 397 366 350 313 KSA 16,095 19,113 23,594 25,139 24,816 24,454 20,677 GDP Per Capita (US$) SOUTH AFRICA 5,938 7,389 8,090 7,592 6,890 6,484 5,695 KSA 4 5.8 3.6 3.6 3 2.4 2 Inflation Rate (%) SOUTH AFRICA 6.3 3.5 6.1 5.7 5.4 5.8 4.9 KSA 5.4 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.5 Unemployment Rate (%) SOUTH AFRICA 23.7 24.9 24.8 24.9 24.7 25.1 25.4 Source: IMF, WEO 2017 * Preliminary.
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Saudi-South African Bilateral Relations Trade between Saudi Arabia and South Africa (SAR million)
Exports Imports Trade Balance of Year Value Rank % Value Rank % Volume Trade
1999 3880 12 2% 1502 18 1.4% 5382 2378
2000 6621 11 2% 1038 22 1% 7659 5583
2001 5178 13 2% 893 26 1% 6071 4285
2002 5370 14 2% 809 30 1% 6179 4561
2003 7331 13 2% 751 34 0.48% 8082 6580
2004 8876 13 1.8% 1576 27 1% 10452 7300
2005 11487 14 1.7% 1614 32 1% 13101 9873
2006 12,060 16 2% 1,534 37 1% 13,594 10,526
2007 13,669 16 2% 2,193 32 1% 15,862 11,476
2008 18,638 14 2% 2,430 32 1% 21,068 16,208
2009 10,175 16 1% 1,534 36 0% 11,708 8,641
2010 11,267 19 1% 1,543 39 0% 12,810 9,723
2011 18,302 16 1% 1,738 43 0% 20,040 16,563
2012 27,755 13 2% 1,798 43 0% 29,553 25,957
2013 27,208 13 2% 3,042 36 0% 30,251 24,166
2014 21,689 16 2% 4,064 35 1% 25,754 17,625
2015 10,220 19 1% 4,572 30 1% 14,793 5,648
2016 10,701 16 2% 3,103 33 1% 13,805 7,598 Source: GaStat, Foreign Trade Statistics )2017(
Trade between Saudi Arabia and South Africa 40000
30000
20000
10000
0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Trade Exports Imports
Source: GaStat, Foreign Trade Statistics (2017) (SAR million)
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Top Imported and Exported Commodities between Saudi Arabia and South Africa:
Value Top Imported Commodities 2016 Value Top Exported Commodities 2016
817 Precious stones and metals 9,583 Mineral products
612 Fruits 386 Plastics and articles thereof
405 Vehicles; parts 341 Organic chemicals
167 Electrical equipment; parts 183 Fertilizers
132 Aluminum and articles thereof 63 Misc. chemical products Source: GaStat, Foreign Trade Statistics (2015) (SAR million)
Foreign Direct Investment in Saudi Arabia and South Africa:
Saudi Arabia South Africa Variable 2000 2010 2016 2000 2010 2016
FDI inward stock 17,577 176,378 231,502 43,451* 179,565* 136,837* (USD mn)
FDI outward stock 5,285* 26,528 80,424 27,328* 83,249* 172,827* (USD mn) Source: UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2016 *Estimated Figures
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