South Africa’s economy, and business and retail confidence levels rank poorly when compared with those of eight other sub-Saharan African countries, an Africa prospects indictor report by global research and information company Nielsen showed.
SA ranked eighth out of the nine countries on the economy, eighth on business confidence, and eighth on retail confidence. It scored slightly better, at sixth place, on consumer confidence.
The country ranked last on the overall rankings that combined the four indicators.
SA’s outlook remained lacklustre, Nielsen’s content and marketing executive director for Africa, Ailsa Wingfield, said. “Creeping interest rates, the short-lived fuel price relief and increasing utility prices place an ever-increasing burden on growth, in addition to the country’s electricity constraints.”
On the overall ranking, SA was outdone by countries like Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya, which came in at first, second, and third, respectively.
Although SA was ranked in 9th position, it should not be “overlooked”, particularly with a population that had “various coping strategies” for overcoming tough times, Ms Wingfield said.
Nielsen’s survey included 26 sub-Saharan African countries, although only nine countries were ranked due to the availability and up-to-date nature of their economic indicators.
The nine countries were Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana and SA. These countries together accounted for 71 percent of the sub-Saharan African gross domestic product (GDP) and 50 percent of the region’s population.
