Spending on government outsourcing as share of GDP in South Africa
South Africa: Spending on government outsourcing as share of GDP was 6.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Spending on government outsourcing as share of GDP in South Africa, 2009–2024
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp in South Africa is 6.8%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.0% on the previous year and down 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp in South Africa peaked at 7.9% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 6.8%, in 2024.
That places South Africa 37th out of 43 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Spending on government outsourcing as share of GDP in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 7.3% | — |
| 2010 | 7.2% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 7.1% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 7.7% | +8.2% |
| 2013 | 7.8% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 7.9% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 7.5% | -5.2% |
| 2016 | 7.7% | +2.9% |
| 2017 | 7.3% | -5.0% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 7.4% | +3.2% |
| 2020 | 7.5% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 6.9% | -7.4% |
| 2022 | 7.2% | +4.5% |
| 2023 | 7.1% | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 6.8% | -5.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.3% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 1 |
| 2010s | 7.5% | 7.1% | 7.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.1% | 6.8% | 7.5% | 5 |
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)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 7,985 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 5.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 0.2409 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), per 1,589 current US$ per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), annual 2.99 % change on previous year (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 4.31 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current LCU), per 28,432 current LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) -1.57 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp in South Africa?
- Spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp in South Africa was 6.8% in 2024, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.9% in 2014.
- What is the lowest spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.8% in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp?
- South Africa ranks 37th out of 43 countries with data for 2024.
- Is spending on government outsourcing as share of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Spending on government outsourcing as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This data is divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.