Johannesburg - South Africa, Africa's biggest economy, is back on the growth path following two quarters of recession, statistics released Tuesday showed. In the third quarter of 2009, gross domestic produce (GDP) grew by an annualized 0.9 per cent compared with the previous quarter, according to Statistics South Africa.
During the first and second quarters of the year, the economy shrank by 7.4 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively.
Manufacturing and construction output grew over the three months to September 2009, but mining, retail and agricultural output remained in negative territory.
Construction has been bolstered by infrastructure projects related to South Africa's hosting next year of the football World Cup.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan expects the GDP growth figure for the year as a whole to be negative. He has predicted -1.9 per cent growth in 2009, following by a recovery to 1.5 per cent growth in 2010.
