Impact of COVID-19 on projected budget balance in South Africa 2020-2021

The implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the South Africa budget balance is expected to be drastic. As of June 2020, the budget deficit was revised down to 13.1 percent of the GDP, considering the virus outbreak will persist till the end of the year. Before COVID-19, the deficit was projected at 4.5 percent of the GDP. Moreover, in the worst-case scenario, the deficit for 2021 was reviewed to 12.6 percent, whereas the projection for the same year was at 4.1 percent before the outbreak.

南非预算平衡受新型冠状病毒（COVID-19）大流行的影响预计将产生深远影响。截至2020年6月，鉴于病毒爆发将持续至年底，预算赤字已调整至占国内生产总值（GDP）13.1%的水平。在COVID-19疫情爆发之前，预算赤字原本预计仅为占GDP 4.5%。此外，在最为严峻的假设情景下，2021年的预算赤字经审查上升至12.6%，而疫情爆发前对该年度的预测仅为4.1%。