Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in South Africa

South Africa: Wage bill as a percentage of GDP was 10.2% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
10.2%
Change on year
down 3.6%
World rank
62nd
of 191 countries
All-time high
11.4%
in 2020
All-time low
7.7%
in 2004
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in South Africa, 2000–2022

02.557.51012.52000201120222000: 8.62001: 8.42002: 82003: 7.82004: 7.72005: 8.32006: 8.12007: 82008: 8.62009: 9.42010: 9.82011: 10.22012: 10.32013: 10.32014: 10.42015: 10.52016: 10.52017: 10.62018: 10.82019: 10.92020: 11.42021: 10.62022: 10.2

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

The most recent figure for wage bill as a percentage of gdp in South Africa is 10.2%, measured in 2022.

That represents a change of down 3.6% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage bill as a percentage of gdp in South Africa peaked at 11.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 7.7%, in 2004.

That places South Africa 62nd out of 191 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in South Africa, 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 8.6%
2001 8.4% -2.1%
2002 8.0% -5.4%
2003 7.8% -1.5%
2004 7.7% -2.3%
2005 8.3% +8.4%
2006 8.1% -2.4%
2007 8.0% -0.7%
2008 8.6% +6.5%
2009 9.4% +10.2%
2010 9.8% +4.2%
2011 10.2% +3.2%
2012 10.3% +1.9%
2013 10.3% -0.1%
2014 10.4% +0.6%
2015 10.5% +1.0%
2016 10.5% +0.4%
2017 10.6% +0.6%
2018 10.8% +1.3%
2019 10.9% +1.8%
2020 11.4% +3.9%
2021 10.6% -6.7%
2022 10.2% -3.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 8.3% 7.7% 9.4% 10
2010s 10.4% 9.8% 10.9% 10
2020s 10.7% 10.2% 11.4% 3

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 59 Sao Tome and Principe 10.5% compare
  2. 60 Bhutan 10.4% compare
  3. 61 Lebanon 10.3% compare
  4. 63 Hungary 10.2% compare
  5. 64 Czechia 10.2% compare
  6. 65 Italy 10.2% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage bill as a percentage of gdp in South Africa?
Wage bill as a percentage of gdp in South Africa was 10.2% in 2022, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 11.4% in 2020.
What is the lowest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 7.7% in 2004.
How does South Africa rank for wage bill as a percentage of gdp?
South Africa ranks 62nd out of 191 countries with data for 2022.
Is wage bill as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Wage bill as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-gdp/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-gdp/south-africa/">Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Wage bill as a percentage of GDP
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,127 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed