These provinces had better economic growth than Gauteng in 2017

While Gauteng was the main contributor to SA's economy in 2017, the economies of the North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga registered higher growth than the national rate, thanks to mining and agriculture.

Statistics SA released figures on Tuesday showing that the North West (2.1%), Limpopo (2.2%) and Mpumalanga (2%) had better growth than Gauteng (1.1%) in 2017.

The trend emerged in the gross domestic product figures for the fourth quarter of 2018 on Thursday.

The country’s economy registered growth of 0.8% in 2018, down from 1.4% in 2017. The country's economic growth was 0.4% in 2016.

While KwaZulu-Natal (1.8%), Northern Cape (1.6%), Free State (1.4%) and Western Cape (1.2%) showed some modest growth in 2017, the Eastern Cape (0.6%) registered the least.

The report by Stats SA showed that Gauteng remained the economic hub of the country, contributing 34% to the national economy in 2017.

Gauteng was followed by KwaZulu-Natal (16%), the Western Cape (14%), Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga (8% each), Limpopo (7%), North West (6%), Free State (5%) and Northern Cape (2%) in contributions to the national economy.

The numbers also showed that industrial activity for eight of 10 industries was concentrated in Gauteng while national agriculture production was concentrated in the  Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The eight industrial activities in which Gauteng dominated were: manufacturing, electricity, construction, trade, transport, finance, personal and government.