Gateway to regional and international trade

Despite the infrastructural and management challenges which impact the daily lives of Gauteng residents and businesses, the province has retained its status as a financial, trading, manufacturing and logistics hub. Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, told an Automotive Industry Development Centre round table meeting that “the logistics industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.29% from 2024 to 2030, with nearly 354 000 people employed in logistics and transport across Gauteng”. According to Stats SA, the province is the largest driver of South African economic activity in the sectors of finance, real estate, business services, manufacturing, and government services. Gauteng contributed 33.2% to the national GDP in 2023. The provincial GDP grew 1.1% in 2024 and is expected to rise to 1.8% in 2025 and 2% in 2026. This compares to a 0.58% national GDP growth, which is projected to increase to 1.7% in 2025 and 1.8% in 2026. While Gauteng is the biggest urban conglomeration in South Africa, it still wants to be a role-player in the agricultural sector. Agriculture contributes around 5.7% to the Gauteng GDP, with a 19% rebound in the agricultural sector pushing economic growth in the last quarter of 2024 into a positive 0.3%. The province is cultivating agro-processing through specialised zones in the OR Tambo Special Economic Zone and an agri park programme. This value-added strategy is also seen in the mining sector, which is being transformed from extraction to beneficiation. Manufacturing remains an economic driver, accounting for 40% of all factory output in South Africa, according to the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency. At 16% of the Gauteng economy, manufacturing was second to finance, real estate and business services at 27% in 2023, Stats SA reports. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is still the largest in Africa, and over 140 local and international banks have their headquarters in the province, making it the sub- Saharan Africa financial hub. The province’s Socio-Economic Review and Outlook 2025 reports that the finance and trade sectors both grew by 1.4% in 2024. Gauteng’s economic power is creating and sustaining jobs, with the province accounting for over 50% of jobs advertised in South Africa, according to Career Junction. Stats SA put employment at over five million in 2024, or around one in three jobs in South Africa. As a result, the province has the largest retail sector by turnover on the African continent. ER