The TIPS Provincial Review 2024 analyses key economic and policy developments in the provinces. It comprises an overview report that summarises how the national economic geography is changing in terms of GDP, population, employment, formal business location, and infrastructure. For each province, a separate publication describes developments and major new projects in more depth. This review analyses provincial trends primarily up to 2023, the latest available estimates as of early 2025
Overview Report
The Real Economy Bulletin Provincial Review 2024
Provincial Reports
Eastern Cape: The Eastern Cape is the fourth most populous province in South Africa but has a slow population growth rate. The province’s contribution to the national GDP has been declining since 2011. Manufacturing is the largest real economic sector, followed by construction, with relatively small mining activity. Not only does the province have the highest level of unemployment in the country, its labour absorption rate has fallen over the past decade. Read more.
Free State: The Free State province in South Africa has a slow-growing population and is the second-lowest contributor to the national output after Northern Cape, with its contribution to GDP remaining flat over the past decade. The lacklustre contribution to GDP and the growth rate is often attributed to the waning mining sector in the province. Mining is the largest real economic sector in the Free State, followed by manufacturing and agriculture. The province experienced a strong rebound in 2021, despite this, it is still among the least-performing provinces. Read more.
Gauteng: Gauteng is the most populous province in South Africa, with a rapidly growing population due to a large influx of internal migrants. It is also the largest economy in the country, although its growth has been declining over the years, with significant drops during economic crises. The real economy in Gauteng is dominated by the manufacturing sector, followed by construction, mining, and agriculture. Employment in the real economy has not reached pre-pandemic levels, although manufacturing remains the largest employer among real sectors. Overall, Gauteng enjoys better service provision than other provinces. Read more.
KwaZulu-Natal: KwaZulu-Natal is the second most populous province in South Africa and has the second-largest economy in the country. The province’s real economy is dominated by the manufacturing sector, particularly the food and beverage, petroleum and metals industries. The province also has a significant agricultural sector and a smaller construction industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on KwaZulu-Natal's economy, with employment in the real economy declining but recovering from 2022. Read more.
Limpopo: Limpopo has the highest share of the population living in former homelands. Despite a declining growth rate since 2011, Limpopo’s contribution to national GDP has remained stable. Among real economic sectors, mining is the most significant contributor to the province’s GDP, while agriculture and manufacturing are almost equal. The metals and food and beverage industries dominate the manufacturing sector. Construction overtook agriculture as the largest employer among the real economic sectors in 2023. Read more.
Mpumalanga: Mpumalanga’s population has grown significantly and half the province’s residents live in non-urban areas. The real economy is mainly driven by the mining industry, followed by manufacturing. The largest manufacturing industries are petroleum, metals, food and beverages. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated employment in Mpumalanga. The province has a lower labour absorption rate than the national average. Read more.
North West: The North West province has the third lowest population in South Africa, and nearly half of the population lives in non-urban areas. The economy is primarily driven by the mining industry, and rising commodity prices in 2021 led to significant growth in provincial output. Manufacturing contributes far less to provincial output, and the sector is dominated by food and beverages, and metals. The province has a high level of unemployment compared to the national average. Read more.
Northern Cape: The Northern Cape is the least populated province in South Africa, and most of the province’s population lives in urban areas. The Northern Cape contributes the least to national output, and growth has plateaued over the years. In 2021, however, the commodity boom boosted provincial growth. Among the real economic sectors, mining plays a dominant role in the province. Agriculture, manufacturing, and construction also have a presence. Employment levels are lower than in the rest of the country. Read more.
Western Cape: The Western Cape is South Africa’s fourth most populous province, with almost the entire population living in urban areas and a small minority on farms. The province is the third largest economy in the country. Real economic sectors in the province are dominated by manufacturing, followed by agriculture and construction. The manufacturing sector is dominated by food and beverages, and metals. The level of joblessness in the province is low compared to the national average. The Western Cape has a high level of service provision as most of the population lives in urban areas. Read more.