SOUTH AFRICA recorded its 33rd quarter of uninterrupted expansion in real GDP since September 1999 in the fourth quarter of 2007, driven by strong performances from the economy’s two biggest sectors, financial services and manufacturing, according to southafrica.info. Figures released by Statistics South Africa last week reveal that growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) jumped by an annualised 5.3% in the fourth quarter, up from 5.1%, 4.4% and 4.8% in the first three quarters respectively. This brings South Africa’s estimated GDP for 2007 to 5.1%, down from the 25-year high of 5.4% reached in 2006.
