A new report from Stats SA shows that Gauteng dominates national GDP rankings.

According to the report, Gauteng was responsible for 33.2% of South Africa’s national GDP in 2024. In second place was KwaZulu-Natal with 16.1% while the Western Cape was in third place with 14.2%.

The other six provinces each contributed less than 10% of national GDP.

Gauteng accounts for about 25% of South Africa’s population, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at roughly 20%. The Western Cape makes up about 12%, the Eastern Cape11%, Limpopo 10%, Mpumalanga 8%, North West 7%, the Free State 5%, and the Northern Cape 2%.

This population data shows that Gauteng and the Western Cape produce a far greater share of economic output than their share of the national population, demonstrating that the other provinces are, to a degree, subsidised by these two economic centres.