The South African economy rose by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2025, following a downwardly revised 0.3% growth in Q3 and slightly above analysts' forecasts of 0.3%. This marked the fifth straight quarter of expansion, with growth recorded in five of the ten industries. The finance sector led the gains, rising 1.4% and contributing 0.3 percentage points to GDP. Trade increased 0.9% and personal services grew 0.4%. In contrast, manufacturing was the largest drag, falling 0.6%. From the demand side, household consumption (+1.2%), government spending (+0.5%) and fixed investment (1.3%) helped sustain positive momentum. However, inventories (-0.5 points) and net exports (-0.3 points) weighed on GDP, with exports down 0.6% and imports up 0.5%. On an annual basis, the economy grew 0.8% in Q4, down from a 2.1% increase in Q3 and below forecasts of 1.8%. For the full year 2025, GDP rose 1.1%, the strongest growth since 2022, following a revised increase of 0.5% in 2024.