Chemicals in South Africa
South Africa: Chemicals was 7.0% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Chemicals in South Africa, 1963–2019
Source: International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Measured in % of value added in manufacturing.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 7.0% for chemicals in 2019.
That represents a change of up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, chemicals in South Africa peaked at 14.2% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 6.2%, in 1999.
That places South Africa 84th out of 153 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 57 years of available data.
Chemicals in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of value added in manufacturing | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 9.3% | — |
| 1964 | 9.2% | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 9.2% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 8.8% | -4.1% |
| 1967 | 8.8% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 9.5% | +7.6% |
| 1969 | 9.5% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 9.9% | +3.9% |
| 1971 | 9.9% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 9.3% | -5.5% |
| 1973 | 9.6% | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 9.3% | -3.5% |
| 1975 | 9.1% | -2.2% |
| 1976 | 8.1% | -11.1% |
| 1977 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 9.3% | +15.5% |
| 1979 | 9.3% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 9.2% | -1.5% |
| 1981 | 8.9% | -3.8% |
| 1982 | 10.2% | +15.6% |
| 1983 | 11.7% | +14.6% |
| 1984 | 12.5% | +6.1% |
| 1985 | 14.2% | +14.2% |
| 1986 | 12.1% | -15.0% |
| 1987 | 12.2% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 11.1% | -8.8% |
| 1989 | 10.4% | -6.3% |
| 1990 | 9.4% | -9.6% |
| 1991 | 11.4% | +20.7% |
| 1992 | 11.4% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 9.7% | -14.7% |
| 1994 | 10.1% | +3.9% |
| 1995 | 11.1% | +9.8% |
| 1996 | 10.6% | -4.1% |
| 1997 | 10.6% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 11.6% | +8.8% |
| 1999 | 6.2% | -46.3% |
| 2000 | 6.5% | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 6.6% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 6.6% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 6.6% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 6.4% | -2.3% |
| 2005 | 6.5% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 6.7% | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 6.6% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 6.4% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 6.7% | +4.4% |
| 2010 | 6.9% | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 7.0% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 7.0% | +0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 7.0% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.3%, 96% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 7.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.0%, 1.2× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Chemicals in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | -46.3% | 11.6% | 6.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.2% | 8.8% | 9.5% | 7 |
| 1970s | 9.2% | 8.1% | 9.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.3% | 8.9% | 14.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.2% | 6.2% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.6% | 6.4% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.0% | 6.9% | 7.0% | 10 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More economy & growth data for South Africa
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 0.4836 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.4 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps -4.01 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -61.95 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled -2.16 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual -192.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -33.37 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 16.18 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is chemicals in South Africa?
- Chemicals in South Africa was 7.0% in 2019, according to International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
- What is the highest chemicals recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 14.2% in 1985.
- What is the lowest chemicals recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.2% in 1999.
- How does South Africa rank for chemicals?
- South Africa ranks 84th out of 153 countries with data for 2019.
- Is chemicals rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), published as part of Chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 57 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products includes industries classified in ISIC (Rev. 3) division 24. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of value added in manufacturing which is the contribution to the economy by the manufacturing sector (ISIC Rev. 3 major division D).