The South African defence budget for 2021/22 is just .86% of GDP, down from .97%, causing experts to caution that the reduction will have far-reaching implications for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The 2020/21 defence budget is R54.2 billion ($US 3.8B.) , but for 2021/22 it falls to R46.2 billion ($3.24B) , representing a 14% decrease. Much of this decrease comes from the shrinkage of the Special Defence Account, which goes from R5.2 billion in 2020/21 to R1.005 billion in 2021/22.
While most areas of the SANDF have had their budgets cut, the compensation of employees (CoE) remains virtually unchanged, but that means the percentage of budget spent on salaries increases from 57% in 2020/21 to 63% in 2021/22 (R29 billion).
S. Africa; 2021-22 defense budget