STORY: South Africa's GDP up 0.6 pct in 2023
SHOOTING TIME: March 5, 2024
DATELINE: March 8, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:47
LOCATION: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of South Africa
2. various of Statistics South Africa

STORYLINE:

South Africa's economy remained muted, with its real gross domestic product (GDP) growing 0.6 percent in 2023 after expanding 1.9 percent in 2022, official data showed Tuesday.
   
The finance, real estate and business services industry was the main star in 2023, growing 1.8 percent and contributing 0.4 percentage points to GDP growth, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
   
Personal services, transport, storage and communication, manufacturing, construction, and government services also helped keep the economy in positive territory, according to Stats SA.
   
South Africa's construction sector saw its first positive year since 2016, expanding 0.6 percent, while both the mining and electricity, gas, and water sectors were down for a second year in a row, the data showed.
   
Agriculture recorded its first annual contraction since 2019, shrinking 12.2 percent, which is the biggest annual fall in agricultural production since 1995, according to Stats SA.
   
Stats SA data also showed that South Africa's GDP grew 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter last year.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa.
(XHTV)