SONA in numbers – 2025

MOURNING

• 14 – South African soldiers who died as part of a mission to bring peace to the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

HISTORY

• 70 – years since the adoption of the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People in Kliptown.
• 30 – years since the dawn of democracy.

ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

• 5 – number of years for the implementation of the Medium-Term Development Plan.
• 3 – government’s strategic priorities to be advanced by the Medium-Term Development Plan.
• Over 3% – the level of economic growth that government aims to lift to create the virtuous cycle of investment, growth and jobs.
• R100 billion – value of infrastructure financing expected from local and international financial institutions and investors.
• More than R940 billion – money that government will spend on infrastructure over the next three years.
• 3 – number of years during which government will spend more than R940 billion on infrastructure.
• R375 billion – money to be spent by state-owned companies on infrastructure.
• 12 – blended finance projects worth nearly R38 billion that have been approved through the Infrastructure Fund last year.
• Nearly R38 billion – value of 12 blended finance projects that have been approved through the Infrastructure Fund last year.

WATER

• 490 million – cubic metres of water a year that the Polihlali Dam will feed from the Lesotho Highlands into the Vaal River System. 
• R23 billion – money secured by the Infrastructure Fund for seven large water infrastructure projects.
• 7 – large water infrastructure projects for which the Infrastructure Fund has secured R23 billion.

ENERGY

• More than 300 – days without load-shedding since March 2024.
• Over 13 billion – United States dollars that have been pledged by the international community to the Just Energy Transition.

VISA

• Over 90% – the backlog of more than 300 000 visa applications that government has cleared.
• More than 300 000 – visa applications of over 90% of the backlog that government has cleared.

BUSINESS FUNDING AND JOB CREATION

• R20 billion – value of a transformation fund a year over the next five years that government will set up to fund black-owned and small business enterprises.
• Over 10 000 – persons with disabilities to be empowered by the National Skills Fund Disabilities Programme through tailored training programmes, stipends and specialised tools.
• Almost 2.2 million – work and livelihood opportunities created by the Presidential Employment Stimulus through innovative models that provide high-quality work to participants.
• Over 80 000 – jobs created by the Social Employment Fund in 2025.
• More than 12 000 – participants supported by the Social Employment Fund to enter entrepreneurial activities.

TOURISM

• Close to 9 million – tourists who visited South Africa last year.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AND EMPLOYMENT

• 235 000 – work opportunities secured by young people during the past year through the National Pathway Management Network, which is underpinned by the SAYouth.mobi platform.
• Some 4.5 million – young people registered on the SAYouth.mobi platform.
• Around 60% – value of the national budget that government spends on the social wage: on health, education, social protection, community development and public employment programmes.

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND EDUCATION

• More than 28 million – unemployed and vulnerable people who receive social grants.
• More than 10.5 million – learners who go to public schools where they do not have to pay fees.
• Over 900 000 – students from poor and working-class backgrounds who received funding to study at universities and colleges in 2024.
• 10 – key priorities of the National Strategy to Accelerate Action for Children. 
• 87% – learners who passed their matric exams.
• Approximately 10 000 – students in the first year to be supported through Phase 1 of the Comprehensive Student Funding Model for Higher Education to address the needs of the “missing middle”.

HEALTH

• 3 – existing old central hospitals to be replaced.
• 3 – new central hospitals to be constructed.
• 5 – new district hospitals to be constructed.
• 5  – community health centres to be constructed.
• 1 – a new psychiatric hospital to be constructed.
• 96% – people living with HIV who knew their status, by the end of March 2024.
• 79% – people on antiretroviral treatment among the 96% of people living with HIV who knew their status, by the end of March 2024.
• 94% – people on antiretroviral treatment, among the 96% of people living with HIV who knew their status by the end of March 2024, who were virally suppressed.
• 1.1 million – additional HIV-positive people not on antiretroviral treatment that government will look for to ensure that South Africa reaches its target of 95-95-95.
• 90 – days during which the United States Government has decided to suspend some of its funding for HIV and TB programmes in African countries.
• About 17% – the value of funding from the United States Government to South Africa’s HIV spend.

HOUSING

• 300 000 – serviced stands to be provided to qualifying beneficiaries to enable housing development in well-planned, connected communities along key development corridors.

RAIL TRANSPORT

• More than 80% – passenger rail corridors that have been returned to service.
• Over 200 – locally-produced trains that the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has introduced on its network to provide a low-cost option for public transport.
• Over the next five years – period during which government will restore the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s signalling system.

CRIME AND CORRUPTION

• 4 000 – personnel to expand the Detective Service through internal recruitment processes.
• Over R95 billion – value of leakage in impermissible refunds that the South African Revenue Service prevented by using artificial intelligence in its fraud risk detection and verification work.
• R20 billion – amount recovered by the South African Revenue Service.
• Over R10 billion – money recovered by the Special Investigating Unit and Asset Forfeiture Unit in state capture related cases.
• 16 out of 22 – action items that government has fully addressed in the law-enforcement system to secure the removal of South Africa from the international Financial Action Task Force grey list.

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

• 65 – Thuthuzela Care Centres across the country.
• 52 – districts in the country.
• 44 – districts, out of 55 districts in the country, which have gender-based violence shelters.
• 16 – additional sexual offences courts to be established in the next financial year.

VISION

• Next 30 years – period of a vision for the country to be defined by all South Africans coming together in the National Dialogue.