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<\/a><\/p>\n“Roughly is the key word here,” the stats body said. “There are different ways to compare economic activity across nations, and many factors to keep in mind when doing so. Figures can differ according to the method used to produce estimates, and nominal GDP figures in US dollars (used here) can change significantly over time due to shifting exchange rates.”<\/p>\n
If Gauteng suddenly decided to split off and become its own nation, it would find itself in the top 10. In 2016, its economy was the seventh largest in Africa, surpassing heavyweights such as Kenya and Tanzania. KwaZulu-Natal was ranked in twelfth place, larger than the economies of Ghana and Tunisia, StatsSA said.<\/p>\n
Western Cape was in sixteenth spot, generating about the same level of economic activity as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An important point, StatsSA said, is that although the economies of Western Cape and the DRC were about the same size, the DRC had a population of 79 million in 2016, according to the United Nations, whereas Western Cape\u2019s population totalled just over six million individuals.<\/p>\n This is reflected in per capita GDP figures: Western Cape\u2019s per capita GDP is roughly US$6,300, while the DRC lags far behind at US$512.<\/p>\n If per capita GDP is used as a measure across the African continent, the rankings shift significantly.<\/p>\n Gauteng moves up to fourth place in terms of the highest GDP per person, surpassing Gabon and Botswana, but lower than Mauritius and Seychelles. If the nine South African provinces were sovereign states, all nine would find themselves in the top 20.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n