PwC: South African Infrastructure Outlook 2025-2050
Africa stands at the threshold of a transformative era in infrastructure investment, set to outpace all other regions in annual growth over the next 25 years.
By PwC
PwC’s Global Infrastructure Outlook 2025-2050 is the first of its kind to offer long-term infrastructure spending forecasts to 2050 across nine sectors, 20 subsectors, and 45 countries and territories, representing 88% of global economic output. It draws on the past 20 years of spending data, and models future investment based on economic and policy factors. The outlook highlights that investment in power, transport, and digital infrastructure will increasingly converge to create more intelligent networks, with traditional assets operating as part of connected, digitally enabled and electrified systems.
This report provides a forward-looking view of infrastructure investment in South Africa to 2050, with South Africa being one of four African countries included in the forecast.
Although the level of investment is substantial, the Infrastructure Outlook 2025-2050 is ultimately about more than just the numbers – it focuses on the direction of capital flows and the transformative shifts in growth. The true opportunity lies not only in bridging the funding gap, but in harnessing capital to create high-performing, resilient assets that drive progress and elevate communities across Africa and beyond.
The takeaways
$151.1 trillion of investment is needed globally to build and maintain infrastructure in the coming decades.
Over the next 25 years, Asia-Pacific will account for more than half of global infrastructure, as urbanisation and technology expansion drive growth in the transport, digital, and power sectors.
The African countries included in the forecast – South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya – have the smallest investment levels but the highest investment growth rate at 77%, rising from around $54 billion to $96 billion in 2050.
Stakeholders must collaborate on planning, financing, AI-driven delivery, and early community engagement to accelerate the development of sustainable infrastructure.