Benefits to the economy of South Africa

Durban harbour is one of the 10 largest in the world. South Africa's World Bank ranking for trading across borders has jumped by 29 positions, due to the roll-out of government policy that addresses the need to decrease the time, cost, and red tape companies have to deal with to get products to port and shipped to international markets. (Image: Brand South Africa)

• Manusha Pillai
Communications Manager
Brand South Africa
+27 11 483 0122
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• WEF Davos 2014: Keeping up with a fast-changing world
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Miller Matola, CEO of Brand South Africa

When the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published its Human Development Report in 2013, it contained powerful insights about the increasingly important role developing countries, such as South Africa and Brazil, are playing in the 21st century.

The UNDP indicates that the South (developing nations and emerging markets) currently produces half the world's economic output. To further illustrate the significant shift in the global economic balance of power, the UNDP argues that the combined GDP of eight developing countries - Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey - equals the GDP of the United States. This implies for the UNDP that countries such as Brazil, South Africa, India and China have become major drivers of the global economy and thus forces for change in the developing world.

South Africa is becoming an economic force to be reckoned with in this rapidly changing global economic and, by implication, geopolitical environment, mainly due to the long-term socioeconomic vision and the associated policy-making of its government. Its successes, in terms of its global perception and rankings in key influential indices - such as the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report, the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index, the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Index - could set a benchmark for other emerging countries to follow.