Lesetja Kganyago: Overview of the South African economy

Address by Mr Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, at the 100th annual ordinary general meeting of the SARB shareholders, Pretoria, 31 July 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Global economic conditions

We mark the 100th annual Ordinary General Meeting (AGM) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) at a time when the world is facing one of the most disruptive and challenging crises in recent memory. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant pressure on the global as well as domestic economies, and the livelihoods of citizens.

The unprecedented restrictions imposed by countries to try and contain the spread of the virus have contributed to plunging economic activity, ending the global economic expansion that had started in 2010.

In its latest update on the World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that global gross domestic product (GDP) will contract by about 4.9% in 2020. The World Bank highlights that this will be the deepest global contraction since 1945, with a record 93% of the world's economies expected to experience economic contraction this year.