Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income

South Sudan: the economy in numbers

Per person: $1,080, or $1,155 at purchasing power parity. Population: 12.2 million (2025).

$12B+41.4%real GDP growth, 2025

GDP in 2015, current US dollars. IMF forecast for 2026: +10.5%.

GDP per capita

$1,080

2015

GDP per capita, PPP

$1,155

2015

Inflation

97.6%

2025 · IMF forecast 2026: 27.6%

Government debt

64.2%

2025 · % of GDP, general government

Population

12.2M

2025 · #80 of 217

Unemployment

12.4%

2023 · ILO estimate

Life expectancy

57.7 years

2024

GDP

Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $21.8 billion in 2008, $16.3 billion in 2015.

Current US dollars; “In 2025 dollars” removes US inflationSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

GDP per capita

In 2025 dollars: $2,476 per person in 2008, $1,468 in 2015.

GDP per capitaGDP per capita, PPP (international $)

PPP: purchasing power parity, international dollarsSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Real GDP growth

Average over 2016–2025: −2.1% a year. Years of falling GDP since 2009: 9 of 17.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Inflation

Consumer prices rose 439 times from 2008 to 2024. Highest annual inflation: 380.0% in 2016. Years with inflation above 100%: 2. The chart cuts the scale at 100%; “Full scale” shows everything.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Government debt, % of GDP

Highest since 2011: 128.9% of GDP in 2016. IMF forecast for 2031: 46.3%.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Population

1960: 2.93 million · 2025: 12.2 million.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Unemployment rate

1991: 12.3% · 2023: 12.4%.

% of the labor force, ILO modeled estimatesSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Life expectancy at birth

1960: 28.1 years · 2024: 57.7 years.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Exports of goods and services

2008: 66.0% · 2015: 36.7%.

% of GDPSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Data by year

Show the year-by-year table

Year	GDP	GDP per capita	Per capita, PPP	Real growth	Inflation	Gov. debt, % GDP	Population	Unemployment	Life expectancy	Exports, % GDP
2031				2.9%^f	5.0%^f	46.3%^f
2030				3.6%^f	5.6%^f	45.7%^f
2029				3.3%^f	6.3%^f	45.4%^f
2028				3.5%^f	7.8%^f	44.4%^f
2027				3.9%^f	28.3%^f	43.0%^f
2026				10.5%^f	27.6%^f	43.2%^f
2025				41.4%	97.6%	64.2%	12.2M
2024				−28.1%	91.4%	53.7%	11.9M		57.7
2023				5.3%	2.4%	60.7%	11.5M	12.4%	57.6
2022				−5.2%	−6.7%	42.1%	11M	12.5%	57.2
2021				5.3%	10.5%	56.4%	10.9M	13.9%	57.0
2020				−6.5%	29.7%	48.3%	10.7M	14.2%	57.6
2019				0.9%	87.2%	43.4%	10.4M	12.7%	58.1
2018				−2.1%	83.5%	84.3%	10.1M	12.9%	51.9
2017				−5.8%	187.9%	77.5%	10.3M	13.0%	35.4
2016				−13.3%	380.0%	128.9%	10.8M	12.9%	36.7
2015	$12B	$1,080	$1,155	−10.8%	52.8%	58.2%	11.1M	12.5%	39.8	36.7%
2014	$14B	$1,243	$1,373	3.4%	1.7%	39.6%	11.2M	12.6%	45.6	38.4%
2013	$18.4B	$1,650	$1,917	13.1%	−0.1%	17.6%	11.2M	12.7%	58.3	9.7%
2012	$11.9B	$1,109	$1,417	−46.1%	45.5%	8.9%	10.8M	12.8%	58.2	42.8%
2011	$14.9B	$1,449	$2,718	−4.6%	46.9%	0.0%	10.3M	12.6%	57.7	66.1%
2010	$14.6B	$1,498	$2,948	5.5%	1.2%		9.75M	12.5%	57.5	61.4%
2009	$12.2B	$1,323	$2,911	5.0%	5.0%		9.24M	12.4%	56.8	60.3%
2008	$14.6B	$1,654	$2,887				8.82M	12.3%	56.3	66.0%
2007							8.39M	12.3%	55.4
2006							7.98M	12.3%	54.7
2005							7.59M	12.3%	54.0
2004							7.23M	12.3%	53.1
2003							6.9M	12.2%	52.3
2002							6.6M	12.2%	49.4
2001							6.31M	12.3%	48.5
2000							6.03M	12.3%	47.6
1999							5.77M	12.1%	44.5
1998							5.62M	12.1%	19.0
1997							5.51M	12.1%	33.1
1996							5.36M	12.3%	32.1
1995							5.23M	12.3%	31.5
1994							5.07M	12.3%	44.9
1993							4.96M	12.2%	22.3
1992							4.91M	12.4%	21.9
1991							4.84M	12.3%	29.2
1990							4.74M		28.6
1989							4.71M		28.2
1988							4.85M		11.0
1987							4.96M		20.7
1986							4.92M		32.8
1985							4.83M		32.4
1984							4.75M		31.8
1983							4.66M		34.7
1982							4.56M		38.7
1981							4.45M		38.3
1980							4.34M		38.0
1979							4.23M		37.8
1978							4.13M		37.6
1977							4.02M		37.4
1976							3.92M		37.1
1975							3.82M		36.9
1974							3.72M		36.6
1973							3.63M		36.3
1972							3.54M		31.3
1971							3.47M		31.0
1970							3.41M		25.6
1969							3.37M		25.4
1968							3.32M		26.1
1967							3.28M		25.9
1966							3.24M		25.6
1965							3.19M		28.8
1964							3.13M		32.5
1963							3.07M		28.2
1962							3.02M		28.5
1961							2.98M		28.3
1960							2.93M		28.1

e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Real growth: IMF data for 2016–2025, World Bank for the other years. Inflation: IMF data for 2025, World Bank for the other years.

Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.

Uganda

$1,206 per person (2025)

Rwanda

$1,124 per person (2025)

Kenya

$2,363 per person (2025)

Ethiopia

$933 per person (2025)

Burundi

$234 per person (2025)

Central African Republic

$556 per person (2025)

Sudan

$1,165 per person (2025)

Tanzania

$1,319 per person (2025)

Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe

Rankings

GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country

Data and methods

GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)