Guess which province showed the strongest economic growth in 2017?

While Gauteng remains the country's economic powerhouse, the Northern Cape was the province that showed the strongest economic growth in 2017.

And the government is the second-largest contributor to GDP.

Here are four interesting facts highlighted by Stats SA in an article published on their website on Friday: 

1. Gauteng generated R34 out of every R100 of SA's GDP in 2017, despite encompassing the smallest land area. Second was KwaZulu-Natal with R16 and third Western Cape at R14. "Gauteng's economic dominance is not surprising. Finance, government, manufacturing, construction and four other industries are heavily represented in the province," Stats SA wrote. The exceptions are agriculture, concentrated in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and the bulk of mining which happens in North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
2. Gauteng’s GDP per person was double that of the Eastern Cape. Gauteng is the most populous province, housing 14.3-million people and the province generated R1.59-trillion to SA’s total GDP of R4.65-trillion - or R111,171 per person. The Eastern Cape contributed the least at R55,094 per person. The national GDP per person in 2017 was R81,875.
3. Government is an important economic driver as the largest industry in the Eastern Cape and Free State, and the second-biggest in Gauteng and Limpopo. "In fact, nationally it is the second-biggest industry after finance and business services, contributing 18% to South Africa's GDP," said Stats SA. In the Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, mining is the most important industry.
4. The Northern Cape was the economy that grew the most in 2017, expanding by 2.8% with the help of mining and agriculture. "In fact, the Free State, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga also saw growth higher than the national rate due to stronger performance in both agriculture and mining," said Stats SA.