South Africa

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the human rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate, coined the term “rainbow nation” for South Africa, as an expression of appreciation of his country's ethnic and cultural diversity. Until the end of the apartheid regime in 1994, South Africa had been isolated by the international community for a long time due to its systematic racist repression of the majority population. The impact of that period can still be felt today.

Over the past 30 years, South Africa has developed into a stable democracy. The constitution it adopted in 1997 is very progressive. It contains, among other things, a comprehensive catalogue of human rights. The country has a free media and an active civil society.

The World Bank classifies South Africa as an upper middle-income country. The country is currently ranked 110th out of 193 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Even though South Africa has made significant progress on development, it is faced with major political and economic challenges and deep social divisions.

German development cooperation with South Africa

Germany is one of the “global partners” of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Among other things, the two countries' cooperation is intended to strengthen South Africa's important role for democracy, peace and stability on the African continent and to contribute towards global climate action.

At the international climate conference in 2021, Germany joined forces with the US, the UK, France and the EU to enter into a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with South Africa.

At the government negotiations in November 2024, the BMZ committed 276 million euros in new funding to its partner country for the following two years. Of this, 200 million euros will be provided in the form of a reduced-interest loan and 76 million, as a grant. The commitments will go, in particular, towards supporting the reform of the energy sector and the JETP.

South African-German development cooperation focuses on the following core areas:

Climate and energy, just transition
Area of intervention: renewable energy and energy efficiency
Peaceful and inclusive societies
Areas of intervention: good governance; peacebuilding and conflict prevention
Sustainable economic development, training and employment
Area of intervention: technical and vocational education and training

In addition, Germany and South Africa are also cooperating in the area of “Health, pandemics and One Health”. South Africa's government wants to make the country and the entire continent self-sufficient in vaccine production and to secure reliable supplies of vaccines for the people against diseases such as COVID-19, tuberculosis and malaria. The BMZ supports these efforts by providing funding for research, training, the construction of pilot facilities, and for establishing regulatory and certification authorities and building their capacity.

Press release 28 November 2024

Germany remains important partner for South Africa’s socially just energy transitionInternal link
Press release 20 April 2023

Vaccines “Made in Africa”: Inauguration of mRNA technology hub in South AfricaInternal link
Press release 6 December 2022

State Secretary Flasbarth travels to South Africa: focus on decent jobs and a just energy transitionInternal link
Press release 6 October 2022

Coal exit and transformation of the energy system in South Africa are progressing – Germany is lending a hand to help make it socially fairInternal link

South Africa is experiencing an energy crisis. While the rolling blackouts have ceased for the time being, the energy infrastructure is in poor repair – a result of decades of underinvestment and criminal activity. The crisis is having a devastating impact on the country's population and its economic development. Germany is supporting its partner country in effecting a socially just energy transition.

View of the government building in Pretoria

Good governance is an important precondition for sustainable development. However, government and administrative activities in South Africa are made more difficult by a lack of skilled staff and by inefficiency – not just at national level but also in the provinces and districts. That is why Germany is engaged in development cooperation with South Africa in the field of developing an effective public administration system.

Trainees at a technical training centre in Soweto

About half of young people in South Africa under the age of 25 are unemployed. At the same time, companies are having difficulty filling vacant posts because of a lack of skilled workers. The German Development Ministry (BMZ) is supporting its partner country's efforts to improve vocational education and create employment opportunities for teens and young adults.