Bank Z-score in South Africa
South Africa: Bank Z-score was 15.46 in 2021. ▼ Falling
Bank Z-score in South Africa, 2000–2021
Source: Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD).
Analysis
South Africa recorded 15.46 for bank z-score in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 15.2% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, bank z-score in South Africa peaked at 22.89 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 11.39, in 2004.
South Africa ranks 83rd of 170 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 14.75 | 11.39 | 22.89 | 8 |
| 2010s | 15.41 | 14.03 | 17.25 | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.44 | 13.43 | 15.46 | 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 z-score in South Africa?
- Bank z-score in South Africa was 15.46 in 2021, according to Bankscope, Bureau van Dijk (BvD).
- What is the highest bank z-score recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 22.89 in 2000.
- What is the lowest bank z-score recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.39 in 2004.
- How does South Africa rank for bank z-score?
- South Africa ranks 83rd out of 170 countries with data for 2021.
- Is bank z-score rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. 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 Z-score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
It captures the probability of default of a country's banking system. Z-score compares the buffer of a country's banking system (capitalization and returns) with the volatility of those returns. It is estimated as (ROA+(equity/assets))/sd(ROA); sd(ROA) is the standard deviation of ROA. ROA, equity, and assets are country-level aggregate figures Calculated from underlying bank-by-bank unconsolidated data from Bankscope.