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Country guide· 27 min read

South Africa rankings 2026: where South Africa places in 218 global Top 10s

South Africa is #2 in Countries with the highest income inequality and inside the top 10 of 27 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

This is the complete picture of South Africa across Top10Earth: 218 current rankings out of 491 that compare countries, from the economy and health to energy, education and food. Every figure below is the latest published value from its source. Its best position is #2 in Countries with the highest income inequality, where it is measured at 0.54 index (0-1) (Gini coefficient) as of 2026-11-02. South Africa finishes inside the top 10 in 27 rankings.

Top 10 finishes

South Africa is inside the top 10 of 27 further rankings. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

The remaining 15 top-10 positions are in the full list at the end of this guide.

South Africa by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, South Africa holds 69 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of electricity from coal (85.02 % of total electricity), #4 of 50 in Countries using the most coal energy per person (15.6k kWh per person), #4 of 50 in Countries with the highest coal rents as a share of GDP (2.44 % of GDP) and #5 of 50 in Countries gaining the most forest area each year (87.57 thousand hectares). 65 more rankings are listed below.

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, South Africa holds 42 positions: #5 of 50 in Countries with the highest banana yields (63.1 tonnes per hectare), #5 of 50 in Countries with the highest orange yields (45.8 tonnes per hectare), #7 of 50 in Countries with the most people who cannot afford enough calories (29.3k thousand people) and #9 of 50 in Countries with the highest beef yield per animal (348 kilograms per animal). 38 more rankings are listed below.

Finance and crypto

In finance and crypto, South Africa holds 38 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest income inequality (0.54 index (0-1)), #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest unemployment rate (32.39 % of labor force), #2 of 50 in Countries with the largest stock market value relative to GDP (327.24 % of GDP) and #12 of 50 in Countries with the largest external debt (175.9 DOD, current US$ bn). 34 more rankings are listed below.

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, South Africa holds 30 positions: #4 of 50 in Countries with the highest respiratory infection death rates (138.46 per 100,000 people), #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest death rates from fires and burns (6.07 per 100,000 people), #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest maternal death rates (0.87 per 100,000 people) and #10 of 50 in Countries with the highest tuberculosis death rates (93.19 per 100,000 people). 26 more rankings are listed below.

World and society

In world and society, South Africa holds 27 positions: #4 of 50 in Countries with the highest diabetes death rates (102.05 per 100,000 people), #6 of 50 in Countries with the highest chronic respiratory disease death rates (42.29 per 100,000 people), #6 of 50 in Countries with the highest homicide rates (43.72 per 100,000 people) and #10 of 50 in Countries with the longest rail networks (21.0k route-km). 23 more rankings are listed below.

Travel

In travel, South Africa holds 5 positions: #36 of 50 in Countries with the most airline departures (169.15 thousand), #38 of 50 in Countries with the most rail travel (0 million), #42 of 50 in Countries with the most air passengers (15.45 million) and #45 of 50 in Most-visited countries by international arrivals (3.89 million). 1 more ranking is listed below.

Consumer tech

In consumer tech, South Africa holds 4 positions: #11 of 50 in Countries by mobile subscriptions per 100 people (179.34 per 100 people), #16 of 50 in Countries with the most mobile phone subscriptions (114.79 million subscriptions), #23 of 50 in Countries with the most internet users (50.15 million people) and #47 of 50 in Countries with the most fixed broadband subscriptions (3.42 million subscriptions).

Education and science

In education and science, South Africa holds 3 positions: #22 of 50 in Countries with the longest pre-primary education (4 years), #28 of 50 in Countries with the highest government spending on education as a share of GDP (6.02 % of GDP) and #33 of 50 in Countries with the most scientific journal articles (14.95 thousand).

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, South Africa moved in 197 rankings:

Since the first snapshot

Top10Earth keeps every snapshot it publishes. Where a ranking has been captured at least three times, the first recorded position can be compared with today's:

Where South Africa ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. South Africa's lowest current positions are 50th of 50 in Countries generating the most fossil fuel electricity per person (3,080.44 kWh per person), 50th of 50 in Countries investing the most (gross capital formation) (59.26 current US$ bn) and 50th of 50 in Countries with the largest commercial service imports (21.49 US$ bn). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes South Africa

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit South Africa's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about South Africa

What is South Africa's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#2 in Countries with the highest income inequality, with 0.54 index (0-1) (Gini coefficient) as of 2026-11-02.

How many rankings include South Africa?

218 current country rankings out of 491 on the site.

Is South Africa in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 27 rankings, including #2 in Countries with the highest income inequality, #2 in Countries with the highest share of electricity from coal and #2 in Countries with the highest unemployment rate.

Where do the numbers come from?

From Our World in Data and World Bank Open Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

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