Closing a business, recovery rate in South Africa
South Africa: Closing a business, recovery rate was 35.4 cents on the dollar in 2012. ▲ Rising
Closing a business, recovery rate in South Africa, 2003–2012
Source: World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/). Measured in cents on the dollar.
Analysis
In 2012, closing a business, recovery rate in South Africa stood at 35.4 cents on the dollar. That is the highest value across all 10 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, closing a business, recovery rate in South Africa peaked at 35.4 cents on the dollar in 2012 and was at its lowest, 30.7 cents on the dollar, in 2003.
South Africa ranks 11th of 46 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Closing a business, recovery rate in South Africa, year by year
| Year | cents on the dollar | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 30.7 cents on the dollar | — |
| 2004 | 31.8 cents on the dollar | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 33.9 cents on the dollar | +6.6% |
| 2006 | 34.4 cents on the dollar | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 33.2 cents on the dollar | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 32.2 cents on the dollar | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 32.2 cents on the dollar | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 34.4 cents on the dollar | +6.8% |
| 2011 | 35.2 cents on the dollar | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 35.4 cents on the dollar | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 32.63 cents on the dollar | 30.7 cents on the dollar | 34.4 cents on the dollar | 7 |
| 2010s | 35 cents on the dollar | 34.4 cents on the dollar | 35.4 cents on the dollar | 3 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More private sector data for South Africa
- Merchandise trade 57.2% (2025)
- Food imports 7.2% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 62.1% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 128.08 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 12.8% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 38.3% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 116.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,798 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2725 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 5.74 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is closing a business, recovery rate in South Africa?
- Closing a business, recovery rate in South Africa was 35.4 cents on the dollar in 2012, according to World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/).
- What is the highest closing a business, recovery rate recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 35.4 cents on the dollar in 2012.
- What is the lowest closing a business, recovery rate recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.7 cents on the dollar in 2003.
- How does South Africa rank for closing a business, recovery rate?
- South Africa ranks 11th out of 46 countries with data for 2012.
- Is closing a business, recovery rate rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/), published as part of Closing a business, recovery rate (cents on the dollar). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The recovery rate is recorded as cents on the dollar recouped by creditors through the bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. The calculation takes into account whether the business emerges from the proceedings as a going concern as well as costs and the loss in value due to the time spent closing down. If the business keeps operating, no value is lost on the initial claim, set at 100 cents on the dollar. If it does not, the initial 100 cents on the dollar are reduced to 70 cents on the dollar. Then the official costs of the insolvency procedure are deducted (1 cent for each percentage of the initial value). Finally, the value lost as a result of the time the money remains tied up in insolvency proceedings is taken into account, including the loss of value due to depreciation of the hotel furniture. Consistent with international accounting practice, the depreciation rate for furniture is taken to be 20%. The furniture is assumed to account for a quarter of the total value of assets. The recovery rate is the present value of the remaining proceeds, based on end-2006 lending rates from the International Monetary Fund’s International Financial Statistics, supplemented with data from central banks. For more information, visit http://www.doingbusiness.org/MethodologySurveys/.