SADC Member States
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a regional economic community comprising 16 Member States namely Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Summary Facts and Figures
| Indicator | Information | Indicator | Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member States | 16 | Trade Total Import Total Export |
|
| Year Established | 1992 | Average Government Debt (2015; % of GDP) | 42.8% |
| Land Area | 556 781 Km² | Average Life Expectancy (2018) | 61.0% |
| Total Population (2018) | 345 Million | Average HIV Prevalence | 11.3% |
| GDP Annual Growth Rate (2018) | 1.8 % | Gender (proportion of seats held by women in parliament) -2018 | 23% |
| GDP (2018) | USD $721.3 Billion | GDP Contribution: Services (2015) | 59.4% |
| Inflation (2018) | 7.1 % | GDP Contribution: Industry (2015) | 20.3% |
| Fiscal Balance (2018) | -3.1 % | GDP Contribution: Agriculture (2015) | 20.2% |
Human Capital Development
SADC is a growing market with a population representing 26% of Africa and a growing middle class
SADC region comprises 380 million inhabitants that is 26% of Africa total population. Almost half of the population (46%) is being located in urban areas. The regional GDP per capita almost doubled in 20 years (period 2000-2021, USD current), and increased at an average rate of 4.35% per annum. To date, one SADC Member State (Seychelles) is ranked by the Work Bank Group as a High income country, 4 as upper Middle income countries and 7 as Lower middle income countries.
51% of the population is below 20 years old while the bulk of the workforce (20-49 years old) represents 40% of the total population. Governments spending on education was estimated at around 5% of GDP in 2020 (14 Member States) as opposed to 3.44% on average in Sub-Saharan Africa. The median literacy among the 15-24 year age group is 86% (15 reporting countries). Half of the top 10 universities in Africa are based in SADC according to the Times Higher Education’s World University Ranking 2023.
SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap identifies human capital development and in particular, skills development, as an important enabling factor for industrialisation and competitiveness. Investment in education and skills development as well as in science, technology and innovation is one of the core strategic objectives of the SADC regional integration and cooperation agenda. The SADC Secretariat has embarked in the process of identifying regional industrial Centres of Excellence and Centres of Specialisation that will be tasked with spearheading the development of skills and capacity to implement the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap.
Trends in Economic Growth
Over the past 10 years, the GDP of the SADC region grew by 2.38% per year on average (constant price USD 2015), to reach 754 billion USD in 2021, that is 39% of Sub-Saharan Africa GDP (current USD).
The World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund forecasts an annual growth rate of 5 to 6% between 2023 and 2027, below the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, but aligned to global trends.
| SADC in Sub-Saharan Africa GDP 2021 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | |
| Total SADC | 634,064 | 768,219 | 839,016 | 881,24 | 930,276 | 978,896 | 1 032,813 | 1 092,411 | |
| Annual Growth rate |
21,16% | 9,22% | 5,03% | 5,56% | 5,23% | 5,51% | 5,77% | ||
| Sub-Saharan Africa |
1 665,207 | 1 875,600 | 2 037,295 | 2 183,815 | 2 367,799 | 2 566,868 | 2 788,197 | 3 027,991 | |
| Annual Growth rate |
12,63% | 8,62% | 7,19% | 8,42% | 8,41% | 8,62% | 8,60% | ||
| World | 85 440,67 | 97 076,28 | 101 560,90 | 106 181,92 | 111 882,43 | 118 042,55 | 124 648,36 | 131 630,73 | |
| Annual Growth rate |
13,62% | 4,62% | 4,55% | 5,37% | 5,51% | 5,60% | 5,60% |
Contribution of the Economic Sectors in SADC GDP:
services dominating the economies, industry accounting for almost a third, and agriculture receiving increasing attention
Agricultural production represents around 10% of total SADC GDP, followed by industry (30%) and services (60%).
| SADC GDP IN 2020 CONTRIBUTION OF ECONOMIC SECTORS |
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA GDP IN 2020 CONTRIBUTION OF ECONOMIC SECTORS |
The agriculture sector is receiving important attention of the SADC Member States and generated 54.9 billion USD in 2020 (17% of African value creation for the sector). Common efforts are embedded in SADC Regional Agriculture Policy (RAP) that aims at increasing the sustainable production, productivity and competitiveness of the sector with a double objective of reaching food self-sufficiency in basic strategic commodities and of positioning the Member States as intra-regional and global suppliers of selected strategic commodities. SADC RAP is implemented through 5-year Regional Agricultural Investment Plans (RAIP).
Trade and Investment
| SADC MAIN TRADING PARTNERS (EXPORT OF GOODS 2019) |
SADC MAIN TRADING PARTNERS (IMPORTS OF GOODS 2019) |
Intra-SADC trade, supported by the SADC Free Trade area and the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), represents a substantial part of SADC total trade. Other major trading partners are China, the European Union, the USA, India, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.
| INWARD FLOWS US DOLLARS AT CURRENT PRICES IN MILLIONS |
INWARD STOCK US DOLLARS AT CURRENT PRICES IN MILLIONS |
The share of SADC in FDI inflows towards Africa evolves around 18%, with an exceptional pic at 55.10% in 2021. It evolves at around 1.7% of FDI inflows towards developing economies and below 1% of global FDI inflows.