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Insights Centre
Sectors

The pillars of southern Africa's economies

11 pillars, split into 100 subsectors: what each is worth, where it is growing, what is being built, who is investing and which signals come before change.

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Real estate and property developmentWhere building is happening, how fast, what kind, and what new infrastructure is about to open up.4.7% of SADC outputUS$1.3bn exports, 202426 deals in 12 months8 subsectorsRetailWho sells where, which chains are expanding, what each catchment holds and where shoppers are underserved.15.0% of SADC outputUS$16.9bn exports, 20248 deals in 12 months10 subsectorsEnergyPower plants and lines being built, how far the grid reaches, how reliable supply is and what energy costs.US$46.4bn exports, 202475 deals in 12 months9 subsectorsWater and sanitationWhere water and sewer networks are being extended, which works are full or failing, and how full the dams are.6 deals in 12 months6 subsectorsLogisticsHow the corridors, ports, railways, borders and warehouses that move goods are performing and changing.7.7% of SADC outputUS$6.5bn exports, 202435 deals in 12 months8 subsectorsManufacturingWhere factories cluster, which zones are filling up, what each country makes and where value addition is missing.11.8% of SADC outputUS$87.4bn exports, 202425 deals in 12 months10 subsectorsAgricultureHow the season is going, what staples cost, where land and water are being invested in, and where processing is missing.11.0% of SADC outputUS$24.0bn exports, 202431 deals in 12 months10 subsectorsMedical and pharmaceuticalWhere care is, who cannot reach it, who is expanding, and how much of the region's medicine is made at home.US$973m exports, 202411 deals in 12 months8 subsectorsFinancial servicesWho banks where, how fast money moves through phones and banks, what credit is growing and where finance is headed.34 deals in 12 months9 subsectorsDigital economyWhere the networks run, who is connected and how fast, who is building data centres, and where the tech markets are strongest.US$532m exports, 202440 deals in 12 months11 subsectorsMiningWhere the mines and projects are, what they produce, the power and corridors they need, and the processing gap.14.5% of SADC outputUS$145bn exports, 202439 deals in 12 months11 subsectors

How each economy is built

Value added by industry for every economy in SADC, with jobs, natural resources and tourism. Every bar opens the country profile; every indicator opens its data card.

Value added across SADC$790.5bnUS$ · 16 of 16 countries · 2024
Largest industryOther services35% of value added
Fastest-growing industryAgriculture3.2% a year after inflation, last 5 years
Most common largest industryOther serviceslargest in 11 of 16 economies

At 35%, finance, real estate, public and other services are the largest part of SADC's economy

Value added by industry, summed across 16 economies, US$, latest year (2024)

$0.0$50.0bn$100.0bn$150.0bn$200.0bn$250.0bnOther services$279.6bnTrade, hotels$118.9bnMining, utilities$114.4bnManufacturing$92.9bnAgriculture$86.8bnTransport, comms$61.1bnConstruction$36.8bn
Source: UN Statistics Division·dotzedw Insights Centre

Agriculture, forestry and fishing have grown fastest over the last five years

Average yearly growth of value added after inflation, last five years, whole region

-1.0%0.0%1.0%2.0%3.0%4.0%3.2%Agriculture2.2%Mining,utilities-0.2%Manufacturing-0.3%Construction0.7%Trade,hotels2.9%Transport,comms2.1%Otherservices
Source: UN Statistics Division·dotzedw Insights Centre

Finance, real estate, public and other services are the largest industry in 11 of 16 economies

Share of value added by industry, latest year. Sorted by finance, real estate, public and other services; choose another industry to re-sort.

Agriculture, forestry and fishingMining and utilitiesManufacturingConstructionTrade, restaurants and hotelsTransport, storage and communicationFinance, real estate, public and other services
0%25%50%75%100%Seychelles5%7%19%9%55%South Africa10%14%14%8%48%Mauritius5%13%6%18%10%46%Botswana13%6%13%16%6%46%Lesotho8%16%14%10%46%Namibia8%19%12%14%5%41%Zimbabwe9%18%17%15%5%33%Eswatini8%31%17%6%32%Malawi28%12%12%10%30%Madagascar24%5%13%7%12%11%28%Mozambique29%16%7%10%10%26%Comoros36%9%21%6%26%Zambia17%9%10%20%16%23%DRC11%28%9%5%17%11%19%Tanzania28%11%8%14%11%10%19%Angola23%23%8%21%18%
Source: UN Statistics Division·dotzedw Insights Centre

South Africa has SADC's largest manufacturing sector, at $51.3bn

Value added by manufacturing, US$, latest year

$0$10bn$20bn$30bn$40bn$50bn$60bn$51.3bnSouthAfrica$8.9bn$7.1bnZimbabwe$6.2bn$5.9bnTanzania$2.3bn$2.1bnMadagascar$1.7bn$1.5bnMozambique$1.4bn$1.4bnNamibia$1.4bn$1.1bnBotswana$288.6m$137.0mComoros$90.3m
Source: UN Statistics Division·dotzedw Insights Centre

Farming employs 27 points more of the workforce than its share of output

Share of jobs in agriculture against agriculture's share of GDP, latest year. The wider the gap, the lower farm productivity and the bigger the room for mechanisation, inputs and processing.

Share of jobsShare of GDP
0%20%40%60%80%Zambia50 pts apartDRC50 pts apartMadagascar48 pts apartMozambique47 pts apartZimbabwe45 pts apartTanzania42 pts apartMalawi35 pts apartAngola27 pts apartLesotho24 pts apartBotswana16 pts apartNamibia15 pts apartEswatini8 pts apartSouth Africa3 pts apartMauritius0 pts apartComoros3 pts apart

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Source: World Bank, ILO·dotzedw Insights Centre

DRC earns the equivalent of 39% of GDP from natural resources

Value of oil, gas, coal, minerals and timber extracted, minus the cost of extraction, % of GDP, latest year

CoalGasMineralsOilForest
0.0%10%20%30%DRC29%9.4%39%Zambia28%6.8%35%Angola28%30%Mozambique3.8%3.6%7.3%15%South Africa3.8%7.3%Tanzania4.0%6.7%Zimbabwe4.2%6.4%Madagascar5.4%5.5%Lesotho4.3%Malawi4.2%4.2%Namibia3.2%4.0%Eswatini2.9%3.0%Comoros1.6%Botswana1.0%Seychelles0.1%Mauritius0.0%
Source: World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Tourism brings South Africa $9.1bn a year

International tourism receipts, US$, latest year outside the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 (usually 2019)

$0$2bn$4bn$6bn$8bn$10bn$9.1bnSouthAfrica$2.6bn$2.0bnMauritius$951.0m$712.4mBotswana$618.0m$451.0mNamibia$395.0m$324.0mMozambique$285.0m$72.7mComoros$62.0m$60.5mDRC$23.1m$14.3mEswatini
Source: World Bank, UN Tourism·dotzedw Insights Centre

Sources and method

Tech market rankings

Where the fintech, insurtech, e-commerce, logistics technology, energy technology and mobility opportunities are strongest, with every driver sourced and every data gap shown. The rankings now sit in the pillars they belong to.

All six, on Digital economyFintech and insurtechEnergy technologyLogistics and mobility