South Africa\u2019s economy contracted by 1.3% – seasonally adjusted and annualised – in the second quarter of 2015, according to preliminary estimates of real gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA.<\/p>\n
The quarter-on-quarter decrease in overall economic activity was characterised by five of the ten main industry groups shrinking in size, while the other five experienced some growth.<\/p>\n
The agriculture industry experienced the largest fall in activity, contracting by 17.4% quarter-on-quarter.<\/p>\n
The mining industry contracted by 6.8% quarter-on-quarter, mainly as a result of lower production in the mining of coal and iron ore, StatsSA said.<\/p>\n
Manufacturing activity declined by 6.3% quarter-on-quarter mainly as a result of decreases in two manufacturing divisions, namely basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery; and petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products.<\/p>\n
Electricity and trade industries were the other two industries that experienced quarter-on-quarter decreases in activity, falling by 2.9% and 0.4% respectively.<\/p>\n
The following industries grew over the same period: finance (2.7%), personal services (1.3%), government (0.6%), transport (0.2%) and construction (0.2%).<\/p>\n
The last time South Africa\u2019s economy experienced a quarter-on-quarter contraction was in the first quarter of 2014, when overall economic activity decreased by 1.6%, StatsSA said.<\/p>\n
Additional findings:<\/p>\n
This map shows which US state has the same GDP as South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Government makes a negative contribution to SA GDP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n