These developments allowed the authorities to pursue more liberal policies while maintaining financial stability, which contributed materially to a better growth performance of the domestic economy and the improvement in the living standards of the population. South Africa’s real economic growth doubled from an average annual rate of 1½ per cent during the 1980s to about 3 per cent between 1994 and 2003.
In addition, the average growth in real gross national income per capita, an indicator of living standards, improved from a negative figure of 1,1 per cent per annum during the 1980s to a positive figure of 0,8 per cent between 1994 and 2003. Moreover, between 2000 and 2003 the average growth in real gross national income per capita amounted to about 1,5 per cent.