Ramakgopa welcomes 0.8% Q2 GDP growth, flags deep unemployment crisis

By Akani Nkuna

The Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramakgopa, has welcomed South Africa’s 0.8% GDP growth in the second quarter of 2025, describing it as the strongest quarterly performance since 2022 and a modest sign of economic recovery.

Briefing the media in Hatfield, Pretoria, on Friday, Ramakgopa outlined government’s performance against the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), noting that improved coordination across government and the public and private sectors had strengthened development efforts — despite persistently high unemployment.

“Youth unemployment remains unacceptably high at 58.5%, signalling deep structural labour market challenges. Poverty and inequality remain entrenched, with the Gini coefficient at 0.63,” she said.

“South Africa is making progress, but much more must be done to ensure economic recovery translates into jobs, incomes and improved well-being for all.”

Ramakgopa expressed concern that current growth levels remain too low to meaningfully address the country’s economic and