Domestic credit to private sector by banks in South Africa
South Africa: Domestic credit to private sector by banks was 59.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in South Africa, 1965–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 59.2% for domestic credit to private sector by banks in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.0% on the previous year and down 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic credit to private sector by banks in South Africa peaked at 70.4% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 38.5%, in 1980.
South Africa ranks 55th of 187 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | 41.5% | — |
| 1966 | 40.0% | -3.7% |
| 1967 | 39.5% | -1.2% |
| 1968 | 40.1% | +1.4% |
| 1969 | 41.1% | +2.5% |
| 1970 | 42.4% | +3.3% |
| 1971 | 42.4% | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 42.3% | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 44.1% | +4.2% |
| 1974 | 42.3% | -3.9% |
| 1975 | 44.2% | +4.4% |
| 1976 | 42.7% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 41.8% | -2.2% |
| 1978 | 41.3% | -1.0% |
| 1979 | 40.2% | -2.8% |
| 1980 | 38.5% | -4.1% |
| 1981 | 42.1% | +9.3% |
| 1982 | 43.1% | +2.4% |
| 1983 | 44.8% | +4.0% |
| 1984 | 47.8% | +6.6% |
| 1985 | 48.1% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 45.0% | -6.5% |
| 1987 | 44.1% | -1.9% |
| 1988 | 46.8% | +6.0% |
| 1989 | 46.7% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 46.6% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 50.6% | +8.6% |
| 1993 | 49.0% | -3.1% |
| 1994 | 51.0% | +4.2% |
| 1995 | 52.0% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 54.2% | +4.2% |
| 1997 | 55.9% | +3.0% |
| 1998 | 59.8% | +7.2% |
| 1999 | 59.8% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 60.5% | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 66.8% | +10.4% |
| 2002 | 50.1% | -24.9% |
| 2003 | 54.1% | +7.8% |
| 2004 | 55.9% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 58.8% | +5.3% |
| 2006 | 65.8% | +11.9% |
| 2007 | 70.4% | +6.9% |
| 2008 | 69.6% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 66.9% | -3.8% |
| 2010 | 63.3% | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 61.4% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 62.6% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 61.6% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 61.7% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 62.5% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 61.0% | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 60.1% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 59.7% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 60.2% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 61.9% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 57.9% | -6.5% |
| 2022 | 58.3% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 57.5% | -1.4% |
| 2024 | 57.5% | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 59.2% | +3.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 59.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 39.8%, 1.5× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 59.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 15.6%, 3.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 40.4% | 39.5% | 41.5% | 5 |
| 1970s | 42.4% | 40.2% | 44.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 44.7% | 38.5% | 48.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 53.2% | 46.6% | 59.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 61.9% | 50.1% | 70.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.4% | 59.7% | 63.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.7% | 57.5% | 61.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More financial sector data for South Africa
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.08 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0021 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 13.81 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 0.0607 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0015 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 10.08 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.08 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0021 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 13.81 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 0.0607 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is domestic credit to private sector by banks in South Africa?
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks in South Africa was 59.2% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 70.4% in 2007.
- What is the lowest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.5% in 1980.
- How does South Africa rank for domestic credit to private sector by banks?
- South Africa ranks 55th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is domestic credit to private sector by banks rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Domestic credit to private sector by banks refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by other depository corporations (deposit taking corporations except central banks), such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.