Machinery and transport equipment in South Africa
South Africa: Machinery and transport equipment was 14.6% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Machinery and transport equipment in South Africa, 1963–2019
Source: International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Measured in % of value added in manufacturing.
Analysis
In 2019, machinery and transport equipment in South Africa stood at 14.6%.
The figure is up 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, machinery and transport equipment in South Africa peaked at 16.5% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 1992.
South Africa ranks 55th of 149 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 57 years of available data.
Machinery and transport equipment in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of value added in manufacturing | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 9.9% | — |
| 1964 | 10.7% | +7.6% |
| 1965 | 10.7% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 13.3% | +24.9% |
| 1967 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 14.1% | +6.1% |
| 1969 | 14.1% | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 13.1% | -7.0% |
| 1971 | 13.1% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 13.9% | +5.9% |
| 1973 | 13.8% | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 14.0% | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 14.4% | +3.5% |
| 1976 | 13.3% | -7.7% |
| 1977 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 13.9% | +4.4% |
| 1979 | 13.9% | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 14.6% | +4.9% |
| 1981 | 14.8% | +1.1% |
| 1982 | 15.4% | +4.3% |
| 1983 | 13.9% | -10.0% |
| 1984 | 12.8% | -7.5% |
| 1985 | 11.0% | -13.9% |
| 1986 | 12.6% | +13.9% |
| 1987 | 12.9% | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 15.0% | +16.1% |
| 1989 | 14.4% | -3.6% |
| 1990 | 13.5% | -6.3% |
| 1991 | 15.5% | +14.4% |
| 1992 | 9.2% | -40.3% |
| 1993 | 15.5% | +67.1% |
| 1994 | 16.1% | +3.9% |
| 1995 | 16.5% | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 15.8% | -4.1% |
| 1997 | 15.8% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 14.3% | -10.1% |
| 1999 | 13.5% | -5.0% |
| 2000 | 13.8% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 15.1% | +9.8% |
| 2002 | 14.5% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 14.2% | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 14.5% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 14.7% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 14.8% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 13.6% | -8.6% |
| 2008 | 13.1% | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 14.3% | +9.3% |
| 2010 | 14.4% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 14.6% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 14.6% | +0.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 14.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 6.8%, 2.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 14.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.0%, 7.3× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Machinery and transport equipment 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +67.1% | 9.2% | 15.5% |
| 1992 | -40.3% | 15.5% | 9.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.3% | 9.9% | 14.1% | 7 |
| 1970s | 13.7% | 13.1% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.7% | 11.0% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.6% | 9.2% | 16.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.3% | 13.1% | 15.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.6% | 14.4% | 14.6% | 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 machinery and transport equipment in South Africa?
- Machinery and transport equipment in South Africa was 14.6% in 2019, according to International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
- What is the highest machinery and transport equipment recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 16.5% in 1995.
- What is the lowest machinery and transport equipment recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 1992.
- How does South Africa rank for machinery and transport equipment?
- South Africa ranks 55th out of 149 countries with data for 2019.
- Is machinery and transport equipment rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Machinery and transport equipment (% 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
Machinery and transport equipment manufacturing includes industries classified in ISIC (Rev. 3) divisions 29-35. 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).