Bank net interest margin in South Africa
South Africa: Bank net interest margin was 3.1% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Bank net interest margin in South Africa, 2000–2021
Source: Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD). Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for bank net interest margin in South Africa is 3.1%, measured in 2021.
That represents a change of up 6.2% on the previous year and up 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, bank net interest margin in South Africa peaked at 4.2% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2008.
South Africa ranks 83rd of 166 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Bank net interest margin in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.8% | — |
| 2001 | 4.2% | +11.6% |
| 2005 | 3.1% | -27.0% |
| 2006 | 3.4% | +11.9% |
| 2007 | 3.5% | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 2.7% | -22.3% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | +13.6% |
| 2010 | 3.1% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 2.8% | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 3.0% | +10.3% |
| 2013 | 3.1% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 3.3% | +8.2% |
| 2015 | 2.9% | -13.1% |
| 2016 | 3.5% | +19.9% |
| 2017 | 3.7% | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | -13.0% |
| 2019 | 3.3% | +4.0% |
| 2020 | 2.9% | -13.2% |
| 2021 | 3.1% | +6.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.4% | 2.7% | 4.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 3.2% | 2.8% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.0% | 2.9% | 3.1% | 2 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More financial sector data for South Africa
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), per capita 95,301 current LCU per person (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), per unit of GDP 14.44 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), annual growth rate 11.21 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gold reserves at 35 SDRs per ounce 141.22 million SDR (2025)
- Gold reserves at market value 12.87 billion SDR (2025)
- Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange 37.46 billion SDR (2025)
- Reserves excluding gold 42.64 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at market value) 55.51 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) 55.42 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) (SDR), per capita 855.88 SDR per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is bank net interest margin in South Africa?
- Bank net interest margin in South Africa was 3.1% in 2021, according to Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD).
- What is the highest bank net interest margin recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.2% in 2001.
- What is the lowest bank net interest margin recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2008.
- How does South Africa rank for bank net interest margin?
- South Africa ranks 83rd out of 166 countries with data for 2021.
- Is bank net interest margin rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD), published as part of Bank net interest margin (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Raw data are from Bankscope. Data2080[t] / ((data2010[t] + data2010[t-1])/2). Numerator and denominator are aggregated on the country level before division. Note that banks used in the calculation might differ between indicators. Calculated from underlying bank-by-bank unconsolidated data from Bankscope.