A recession is a sustained economic decline. An economy is usually regarded to be in a recession if it experiences a decline in GDP for two consecutive quarters.
Recession

An economy that is in a recession is a shrinking economy.
Recessions are usually accompanied by a decrease in production, a general fall in household income and an increase [...]

This page shows the current GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate, as well as a graph and table of the GDP growth rates in South Africa, since 1993.

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The current GDP growth rate is document.write(latest_gdp_rate);% (based on the GDP data for the quarter ending document.write(latest_gdp_rate_date);).
The GDP growth percentages shown [...]

A country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is the total value of all ‘final’ goods and services, that were produced within the borders of the country, during a year.
Gross domestic product

The equation used to calculate a nation’s gross domestic product is:
GDP =
consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports − imports)
Gross domestic product is a [...]