ECONOMICS 214
GDP Growth
Heinrich De Villiers
27840883
Word counter: 440 words
PART 1: AI Prompt improvement
The AI Chatbot was prompted to improve the report by including in-text referencing by
means of the Stellenbosch Harvard Method, and to reference where figures used in the
report came from. The main objective of the report should be stated more clearly
beforehand and a bibliography following the Stellenbosch Harvard method should be
included at the end. Different types of data and data sources should be used in the report,
including graphs and tables. The state of referencing and a table of contents should be
included at the start, as well as an executive summary.
PART 2: AI output evaluation
Additional data were added, but this included only one graph and one table. More
comparitive tables and graphs where trend lines are identified and explained should be
added. Nothing about price stability or equality were mentioned in the report. Relevant
international comparisons should be added, for instance why South Africa underperformed
in comparison to other BRICS-countries. In general, the referencing, both in the reference list
and in-text referencing were improved greatly. In-text referencing were used to explain
where figures were gotten, and because the figures were from StatsSA and World Bank, they
were valid figures.
PART 3:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is the rise in the total production of all final goods and
services produced in the borders of a country within a given time period.
South Africa’s real GDP growth saw significant variation between 2020 and 2025. The
economy shrank sharply in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and strict lockdown
measures, which disrupted business operations and service delivery, especially in the
construction sector (Stats SA, 2021).
In the following years, the economy recovered steadily, led by the service sector, which
proved adaptable and resilient (Figure 1). The shift to digital platforms and remote work
boosted areas such as business services and tech-related industries (National Treasury,
2024). As shown in Figure 2, the service sector remains the dominant contributor to GDP.
From 2021 to 2024, South Africa recorded consistent positive growth, with a 1.9% increase
projected for 2025 (National Treasury, 2024). This recovery reflects structural economic
changes and renewed investor and consumer confidence.
Overall, despite ongoing challenges, South Africa’s economy has shown resilience, with
technology and services driving growth in the post-COVID era.
References
National Treasury. (2024). Budget Review 2024. Available at: http://www.treasury.gov.za
[Accessed 17 Apr. 2025].
Stats SA. (2021). GDP Quarterly Figures. Available at: https://www.statssa.gov.za [Accessed
17 Apr. 2025].