South Africa in top 3 most miserable economies
Bloomberg has released its 2016 misery index, showing that South Africa has one of the most miserable economies in the world.
The Bloomberg misery index is based on two metrics – unemployment and consumer inflation – which are combined to produce an overall “misery score”.
The rates taken into account are not actual rates, but projected rates for the year based on Bloomberg survey data.
Other, similar indices also take into account factors such as interest rates and economic growth, however Bloomberg’s index focuses purely on these “down” indicators.
South Africa’s position on the index hasn’t changed from 2015, with the country ranked as the third most miserable in the world.
However, the index score has worsened from 2015, indicating that the situation has declined in terms of unemployment and inflation.
In 2015, South Africa’s misery score was 30.2 – in 2016 it’s climbed to 32.0.
Venezuela remains the world’s most miserable economy – far ahead of anyone else with a misery score of 159.7. Argentina is ranked second (down from being fifth in 2015) with a score of 39.9.
According to Bloomberg, there is no end in sight for Venezuela’s economic woes, with consumer price growth expected to balloon by 152%, while unemployment hits 7.7%. Argentina, too, is battling with high inflation.
In the mix of the index’s points of measurements, South Africa and Greece have the highest unemployment rates in the top 5 countries – while Ukraine is struggling with a balance of unemployment and high inflation.
More on misery
This graphic shows the shocking state of employment in South Africa
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