Limpopo was the province with the highest economic growth rate last year. It also has the highest economic growth rate on average over the past six years, Statistics SA said on Thursday.
For the first time, Stats SA released figures for the gross domestic product per region (GDPR) on Thursday.
According to this, Limpopo’s growth rate for last year was 6,3% and its average for 1996 to 2001 3,8%.
On the other end of the scale was North West, whose economy shrunk by 1,6% last year, and which has been at the bottom end of the scale since 1999.
The Northern Cape had the lowest average growth rate since 1996, of minus 0,3%.
The GDPR of the other provinces in 2001 was: Eastern Cape — 5,3%; KwaZulu-Natal — 3,6%; Gauteng — 3,3%; Northern Cape –2,7%; Western Cape — 2,6%; Mpumalanga — 0,6%; and the Free State — minus 0,6%.
The other averages for the years 1996 to 2001 were: Gauteng — 3,3%; Western Cape — 3,1%; KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga — both 2,5%; Eastern Cape — 2,4%; the Free State — two percent; and North West — 0,1%.
The portions which the provinces contributed to the economy from 1996 to 2001 remained more or less steady, with Gauteng’s share averaging at around a third of the country’s total GDP.
Its contribution for last year was 33,9%.
The other provinces’ shares were: KwaZulu-Natal — 15,5%; Western Cape — 13,8%; Eastern Cape — 8,2%; North West — 7,3%; Mpumalanga — 7,2%; Limpopo — 6,5%; the Free State — 5,5%; and the Northern Cape — two percent. – Sapa