Three South African provinces are dangerously close to slipping into a technical recession after posting negative economic growth in the first quarter of 2025.
According to BusinessTech , new data shows that the North West, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga experienced economic contractions, while the rest of the country narrowly avoided decline - and the outlook for the second quarter remains bleak.
South Africa's national GDP scraped by with 0.1 growth in Q1, masking stark provincial divides. The Free State and Western Cape led with 0.5 growth, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape at 0.4. But economists warn the worst may still lie ahead.
Q2 forecasts: Barely treading waterWith Q2 data still being calculated, early indicators suggest another dismal performance. Nedbank predicts just 0.3 growth, citing:
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