Government and power in South Africa

Who leads South Africa, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary parliamentary republic with three 'spheres' of government (often called quasi-federal).

Who leads South Africa?

• Head of state: Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa (President of the Republic of South Africa)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: Ronald Ozzy Lamola (Minister for International Relations and Co-operation of the Republic of South Africa)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in South Africa

Government

• South African Government
  Government statements, speeches, documents and service information from national departments.
• The Presidency
  Presidential speeches, statements and publications from the Office of the President.

Parliament

• Parliament of the Republic of South Africa
  Hansard, bills, committee information and papers for the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

Elections

• Electoral Commission of South Africa
  Election results, voter registration statistics and party funding disclosures.

Courts

• Constitutional Court of South Africa
  Judgments, case documents and hearing information of the highest court in the Republic.
• Supreme Court of Appeal (South African Judiciary)
  Information and judgments of the Supreme Court of Appeal and other superior courts, published by the Office of the Chief Justice.

Public audit

• Auditor-General of South Africa
  National and local government audit outcomes and general reports on public finances.

Ombudsman

• Public Protector South Africa
  Investigation reports into maladministration and improper conduct in state affairs.

Asset declarations

• Register of Members' Interests (Parliament)
  Members' declared shares, directorships, property, gifts and sponsorships.

Public contracts

• National Treasury eTender Publication Portal
  Tender notices and awarded tenders of national, provincial and local government bodies.

Laws and the official gazette

• Government Gazette (Government Printing Works)
  Government and provincial gazettes publishing Acts, regulations and official notices.

Government below the national level

• Provinces (9): Provincial legislature elected by proportional representation (list of parties); the legislature elects a premier, who appoints an executive council of 5–10 members
• Metropolitan municipalities (8, 'Category A'): Council elected every five years: half the seats are ward councillors chosen by first-past-the-post, half come from party lists; the council elects the mayor
• District municipalities (44, 'Category C'): Partly directly elected by proportional representation and partly made up of councillors sent by the local municipalities inside the district
• Local municipalities (205, 'Category B'): Council elected like a metro: ward councillors plus party-list councillors; council elects mayor
• Wards (4,468 at the 2021 elections): Each ward elects one councillor; a ward committee of up to 10 community members is chaired by the ward councillor

How local power works in South Africa

Places in South Africa

• All 9 provinces
• The 4 largest cities
• Official statistics for South Africa

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.