Johannesburg: The South African economy has escaped from recession with growth of 0.9 percent in the third quarter of 2009, official data for Gross Domestic Product showed on Tuesday.
"The seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices for the third quarter of 2009 increased by an annualised rate of 0.9 percent compared with the second quarter of 2009," Statistics SA said.
The figure represents the first positive growth in a nine-month recession, the first in 17 years.
The growth is the first since the country economy recorded consecutive contractions since 2008.
South Africa's economy contracted by 3.0 percent in the second quarter, a less dramatic drop than the first quarter's 6.4 percent dive.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 18:44