Economy of the Western Cape
Clockwise from top: A panel from the frescoes in the Assembly Room, Mutual Building in Cape Town, painted by Le Roux Smith in 1942; the fresco illustrates the importance of agriculture and shipping to the economy of the Western Cape in the early half of the 20th century. Cheeses production in Stanford. Recently galvanised pipes being finished in a Cape Town. The Cape Town City Bowl. The port at Cape Town. Agricultural workers picking grapes in a Western Cape vineyard. | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| GDP | ZAR 918 billion (US$ 56 billion) (2022) |
| 0.58 (2010) | |
| 0.75 | |
Labour force | 2,785,871 (2016) |
| Unemployment | 19.6% (2024) |
| Public finances | |
| Revenues | R269.58 billion (2020) - to national ficus |
| Expenses | R72.3 billion (2021) |
The economy of the Western Cape in South Africa is dominated by the city of Cape Town, which accounted for 72.4% of the Western Cape's economic activity in 2023. The single largest contributor to the region's economy is the financial and business services sector, followed by manufacturing.
Close to 30% of the gross regional product comes from foreign trade with agricultural products and wine dominating exports. High-tech industries, international call centres, fashion design, advertising and TV production are niche industries rapidly gaining in importance.
The Western Cape province had an estimated real GDP (constant 2015 prices) for 2024 of R666.75 billion (equivalent to US$36.39 billion) growing 0.75% from R661.79 billion in 2023. Inflation averaged at 4.4% for 2024.
The province accounts for 14% of South Africa's total GDP with Cape Town accounting for approximately 10.1% of the country's total GDP in 2023. The Western Cape had a GDP per capita of R88,438 compared to the national average of just below R75,000 per capita in 2023. In Q4 2024, the province had a substantially lower unemployment rate, at 19.6%, than the national average of 31.9%.
Also in Q4 2024, number of unemployed people declined by 16,000, year-over-year, with employment figures increasing by 2.3% over the same period. Between 2019 and 2024 the province generated a disproportionately large number of jobs relative to the region's size; creating 52.2% of all new net employment in the country.
| Sector | Gross Value Added (2024) | Share of Provincial GDPR (market prices) |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | R23 000 000 000 | 3.45% |
| Mining and quarrying | R900 000 000 | 0.13% |
| Manufacturing | R85 400 000 000 | 12.81% |
| Electricity and water | R11 900 000 000 | 1.78% |
| Construction | R20 900 000 000 | 3.13% |
| Wholesale & retail trade; hotels & restaurants | R78 700 000 000 | 11.80% |
| Transport and communication | R66 800 000 000 | 10.02% |
| Finance, real estate and business services | R207 400 000 000 | 31.10% |
| Personal services | R72 800 000 000 | 10.92% |
| General government services | R35 600 000 000 | 5.34% |
| Taxes less subsidies on products | R63 200 000 000 | 9.48% |
| All industries at basic prices | R603 600 000 000 | 90.52% |