Inward Direct investment, Net (liabilities less assets), Debt in South Africa
South Africa: Inward Direct investment, Net (liabilities less assets), Debt was 7.18 billion in 2024. ▲ Rising
Inward Direct investment, Net (liabilities less assets), Debt in South Africa, 2009–2024
Source: International Monetary Fund.
Analysis
In 2024, inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt in South Africa stood at 7.18 billion. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 111.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt in South Africa peaked at 7.18 billion in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.14 billion, in 2009.
South Africa ranks 26th of 245 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.
Inward Direct investment, Net (liabilities less assets), Debt in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1.14 billion | — |
| 2010 | 3.53 billion | +208.5% |
| 2011 | 2.99 billion | -15.3% |
| 2012 | 3.12 billion | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 3.11 billion | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 3.39 billion | +9.2% |
| 2015 | 3.41 billion | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 3.70 billion | +8.4% |
| 2017 | 4.97 billion | +34.4% |
| 2018 | 3.60 billion | -27.6% |
| 2019 | 5.48 billion | +52.1% |
| 2020 | 4.69 billion | -14.3% |
| 2021 | 5.32 billion | +13.5% |
| 2022 | 6.90 billion | +29.6% |
| 2023 | 7.08 billion | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 7.18 billion | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.14 billion | 1.14 billion | 1.14 billion | 1 |
| 2010s | 3.73 billion | 2.99 billion | 5.48 billion | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.24 billion | 4.69 billion | 7.18 billion | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More external debt data for South Africa
- IFC, private nonguaranteed -15.41 million NFL, US$ (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita -0.2407 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP -0 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre 444.22 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 2.3% (2024)
- Net financial flows, IBRD 910.75 million NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 6.5% (2024)
- Net financial flows, IBRD (NFL, current US$), annual growth rate -109.7 % change on previous year (2023)
- Other investment, Debt instruments 53.54 billion US dollar (2025)
- Use of IMF credit 7.63 billion DOD, current US$ (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt in South Africa?
- Inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt in South Africa was 7.18 billion in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund.
- What is the highest inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 7.18 billion in 2024.
- What is the lowest inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.14 billion in 2009.
- How does South Africa rank for inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt?
- South Africa ranks 26th out of 245 countries with data for 2024.
- Is inward direct investment, net (liabilities less assets), debt rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 111.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund, published as part of Inward Direct investment, Net (liabilities less assets), Debt instruments, Resident enterprises that are not financial intermediaries (World, Derived using counterparty information). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The Direct Investment Positions by Counterpart Economy dataset is based on information collected through an IMF-led global initiative on direct investment positions statistics (the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey, or CDIS). The purpose of this initiative is to enhance the quality and availability of direct investment position statistics by immediate counterpart economy and to support the objective of developing from-whom-to-whom cross-border data on direct investment positions. The DIP dataset includes (i) inward foreign direct investment positions by instrument (equity or debt) and by economy of immediate investor and (ii) outward direct investment positions by instrument (equity or debt) and by economy of immediate investment. In most instances the database contains separate data on net equity and net debt positions, as well as separate data on financial companies and fellow enterprises. The DIP dataset also includes mirror data which show values for the corresponding indicators as derived from data reported by the counterpart economies (referred to as data derived using counterparty information). These data can offer insights into inward and outward positions for economies that do not participate in the CDIS and/or do not collect direct investment positions by country or in total. For economies that do participate, these data can be used to cross-check and verify estimates and may help identify data gaps or errors at the counterpart economy level.