South Africa Credit Rating trends, research and data
This page includes the government debt credit rating and outlook of South Africa as reported by the credit rating agencies of S&P, Moody’s and Fitch. Credit rating agencies are often slow to respond to rising risk conditions. Sign up free to monitor South Africa’s sovereign risk using MacroVar Advanced Financial & Macroeconomic data analytics.
| Date | Rating | Outlook | Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08-03-23 | BB- (Stable) | South Africa Credit Rating (S&P) | |
| 01-04-22 | Ba2 (Stable) | Ba2 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 20-11-20 | BB- (Negative) | BB- | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 20-11-20 | Ba2 (Negative) | Ba2 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 29-04-20 | BB- (Stable) | BB | South Africa Credit Rating (S&P) |
| 03-04-20 | BB (Negative) | BB | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 27-03-20 | Ba1 (Negative) | Ba1 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 18-12-19 | BB+ | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 22-11-19 | (Negative) | South Africa Credit Rating (S&P) | |
| 01-11-19 | Baa3 (Negative) | Baa3 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 26-07-19 | BB+ | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 06-12-18 | BB+ | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 15-06-18 | BB+ (Stable) | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 23-03-18 | Baa3 (Stable) | Baa3 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 24-11-17 | BB (Stable) | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (S&P) |
| 24-11-17 | Baa3 (Under Review) | Baa3 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 23-11-17 | BB+ (Stable) | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 09-06-17 | Baa3 (Negative) | Baa3 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 01-06-17 | BB+ (Stable) | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 07-04-17 | BB+ (Stable) | BB+ | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 03-04-17 | BB+ (Negative) | BBB- | South Africa Credit Rating (S&P) |
| 03-04-17 | Baa2 (Under Review) | Baa2 | South Africa Credit Rating (Moody's) |
| 02-12-16 | BBB | South Africa Credit Rating (S&P) | |
| 25-11-16 | BBB- (Negative) | BBB- | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
| 22-07-16 | BBB- (Stable) | BBB- | South Africa Credit Rating (Fitch) |
South Africa Credit Rating Analysis
The credit rating signal from each credit rating agency for the sovereign debt of South Africa and it’s meaning is presented in the table below.
| S&P | Moody’s | Fitch | Analysis |
| AAA | Aaa | AAA | Prime |
| AA+ | Aa1 | AA+ | High grade |
| AA | Aa2 | AA | |
| AA- | Aa3 | AA- | |
| A+ | A1 | A+ | Upper medium grade |
| A | A2 | A | |
| A- | A3 | A- | |
| BBB+ | Baa1 | BBB+ | Lower medium grade |
| BBB | Baa2 | BBB | |
| BBB- | Baa3 | BBB- | |
| BB+ | Ba1 | BB+ | Non-investment grade speculative |
| BB | Ba2 | BB | |
| BB- | Ba3 | BB- | |
| B+ | B1 | B+ | Highly speculative |
| B | B2 | B | |
| B- | B3 | B- | |
| CCC+ | Caa1 | CCC | Extremely speculative |
| CCC | Caa2 | ||
| CCC- | Caa3 | In Default with small probability of recovery | |
| CC | Ca | ||
| C | C | ||
| D | / | DDD | In default |