Country · ZAF
South Africa · Markets and rating
Sovereign rating
BB: a fair rating, 2 notches below investment grade
South Africa is no. 4 of the 34 African countries rated, among the best rated in Africa. Not yet investment grade, but at the top of the speculative grade: the country borrows on the markets, at a higher cost than an investment-grade one.
- Category
- Speculative (BB)
- In Africa
- no. 4 of 34
- Trend
- Rising
2 notches below investment grade
AfCRA
The African agency, launched on 7 October 2026, has not published a rating yet.
Long-term foreign-currency ratings, from the agencies' releases · verdict and common scale: Syli Atlas's reading of the agencies' categories · a rating is an opinion on credit risk, not investment advice
Business climate
South Africa: a business climate better than in most African countries
Above the African median on 4 indicators out of 4. Syli Atlas gives no « business friendly » verdict of its own: each score comes from the World Bank, compared with the other African countries.
Governance
Worldwide Governance Indicators 2025, score from 0 to 100
Can the state make and apply rules that let private business grow?
Are contracts, property rights, the police and the courts reliable?
Quality of public services and of the administration.
How far public power is used for private gain.
Business regulations and services
World Bank Business Ready (B-READY) 2025, score from 0 to 100
South Africa is not covered yet: B-READY adds countries edition after edition (29 African economies in the latest one).
Sources: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators (CC BY 4.0) and Business Ready (CC BY 3.0 IGO) · the line marks the African median · ranks among the African countries covered
Stock exchange
South Africa on the JSE
- FTSE/JSE All Share (J203)
- 114,693.44
- ▲ +0.98 % · 11 Nov 2026
- Listed securities
- 0
- ZAR
Fictitious figures (development), not MansaAPI's · close of 11 Nov 2026 · end of day, not live · information, not investment advice