1.1%: Why South Africa’s Growth Still Feels Too Small
South Africa’s economy grew by 1.1% in 2025. On paper, that is an improvement. It is the strongest annual growth rate the country has recorded in three years, and in another context that might sound like a reason to celebrate.
But this is where the number gets complicated.
In Number of the Day, Gareth Edwards and Francis Herd unpack the real tension inside that 1.1% figure. Because while growth is growth, not all growth is equal, and not all growth changes people’s lives in a way they can actually feel.
That is the key question hanging over this episode: If the economy grew, why does the country still feel stuck?
Part of the answer lies in scale.
South Africa is not dealing with a mild jobs problem or a small confidence problem. It is dealing with structural economic weakness, long-term unemployment, and the lingering aftershocks of years of underperformance across crucial sectors.
Against that backdrop, 1.1% starts to look less like a breakthrough and more like a slight lift in a system still carrying serious weight.
The episode smartly frames the story through two competing lenses. The glass-half-full version is simple enough: this is better than where the country was a year ago, and the direction of travel is not irrelevant.
Positive growth, even modest growth, matters.
But the glass-half-empty case lands harder. A number like 1.1% does very little to transform the everyday economic experience of most South Africans. It does not create jobs at the scale required.
It does not fix the deeper weaknesses that have left the country vulnerable to stagnation. And it does not automatically restore confidence in an economy that has spent too many years moving below its potential.
That is what makes this episode strong. It does not get trapped in the comfort of a headline. It pushes deeper and asks what kind of growth actually counts.
The discussion also pulls the camera back and looks at the longer arc of South Africa’s economic story. There was a time when the country was capable of much stronger expansion.
But over time, a combination of structural failures, weak investment, state capture damage, and drag in sectors like mining and manufacturing has lowered the ceiling. In that context, 1.1% is not just a number for one year. It starts to resemble a pattern.
And that pattern is the real concern.
At one point in the episode, the image becomes especially sharp: South Africa is not swimming, it is treading water.
That line captures the entire story. The country is not in full economic collapse, but neither is it moving with the speed, force, or confidence needed to change the national picture.
So what should South Africans hear when they hear 1.1%?
They should hear two things at once. First, this is better than flatlining. Second, it is still nowhere near enough.
That dual truth is what gives the number its sting. It is progress, but fragile progress. It is movement, but not momentum. And until growth reaches a level that can genuinely shift jobs, confidence, investment, and opportunity, the celebration will always feel cautious.
1.1%. Better than before. Still too small.