This comes after the GDP increased by 2.6% in the third quarter of 2018, the agency said.
Stats SA’s deputy director-general responsible for economic statistics Joe de Beer said the main contributing sectors to the GDP expansion between October and December 2018 were agriculture, transport, manufacturing, finance, personal services and electricity.
“The positive growth in the fourth quarter follows after the positive (growth) we had (in the third quarter) after the recession in the first half of the year,” he added.
De Beer said the manufacturing industry expanded by 4.5% in the fourth quarter and that the divisions that made the largest contributions to the increase were petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products, motor vehicles, parts and accessories and other transport products.
The finance, real estate and business services rose by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, with the increased economic activity being reported for financial intermediation, insurance, auxiliary activities and real estate, the agency added.
The transport, storage and communication industry increased by 7.7% and this was attributed to land transport and the transport of support services, it added.
Mining, trade, construction and government services were, according to De Beer, the sectors that contributed negatively to the GDP.