South Africa is a Southern African country that is a member of the SADC block of countries. The second-largest economy in Africa is a country of 59.3 million people. South Africa is a middle-income, emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources; well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors; a stock exchange that is the 18th largest in the world; and modern infrastructure supporting a relatively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. Growth of the South African economy was robust from 2004 to 2007 as South Africa reaped the benefits of macroeconomic stability and a global commodities boom but began to slow down in the second half of 2007 due to an electricity crisis and the subsequent global financial crisis’ impact on commodity prices and demand. GDP fell by nearly 2% in 2009 but recovered in 2010-11. As of 2020, South Africa’s GDP per capita of $5091 USD, representing 0.59% of the world economy. Unemployment remains high and as of 2019 it sits at 29%; outdated infrastructure has constrained growth. State power supplier Eskom encountered problems with aging plants and meeting electricity demand necessitating ‘load-shedding’ cuts that have been a challenge, with an estimated R2 billion Rand lost a day to load shedding. Daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era – especially with regards to the economic disparities that exist within the previously disadvantaged groups of South Africa. Poverty, lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups, and a shortage of public transportation. South Africa’s economic policy is fiscally conservative focusing on controlling inflation and attaining a budget surplus. The current government largely follows these prudent policies but must contend with the impact of the global crisis and is facing growing pressure from special interest groups to use state-owned enterprises to deliver basic services to low-income areas and to increase job growth. South Africa has a fairly stable democracy and has strong institutions that safeguard its democracy. What has become a deterrent to the country’s continued growth is rampant corruption, which the current administration hopes to tackle. The current administration is making social and economic reforms to reposition South Africa as a regional economic hub.