GDP rebasing feeds into South Africa’s external account ratios
Revised South African GDP estimates will feed into the South African Reserve Bank’s December statistical releases. The changes cover historical current account statistics, ratios to GDP and balanced national accounts.
A 2022 price base
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) published revised GDP estimates on October 29, 2026, covering Q1 2018 to Q2 2026.
They include revised benchmarked nominal GDP at current prices and real GDP rebased to constant 2022 prices.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will incorporate the revised historical statistics and ratios to GDP in its Q3 2026 balance of payments current account release on December 3, 2026.
Balanced national accounts covering production, expenditure and income measures from Q1 2018 to Q3 2026 will follow on December 15, 2026.
These statistics will be available on the SARB website alongside the December 2026 Quarterly Bulletin.
Older series must wait
SARB will make statistics for 1946–2017 available only in 2027, dependent on Stats SA publishing the complete backcast series.
Stats SA’s October 29, 2026 statement separately scheduled backcast series reaching to 1993 for November 2026.
National accounts enquiries go to Caswell Monyela and balance of payments enquiries to Nthabiseng Molemoeng.
SARB Media Relations issued the notice and directs media enquiries to media@resbank.co.za.
The timetable therefore distinguishes Stats SA’s backcast publication from SARB’s subsequent data availability.
Comparability arrives in stages
The revisions change the statistical basis for GDP ratios as well as national accounts measures.
December releases incorporate the revised recent history, but SARB’s older series remain pending until 2027.
Full historical comparisons depend on completion of the backcast data.