South Africa’s presence in the rest of Africa has to be seen in the dual context of its relative economic size and sophistication, together with the insulation the country endured through the apartheid years. The South African economy contributes 19% to the total African economy, one-third of sub-Saharan Africa’s and nearly two-thirds of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gross domestic product (GDP). This is according to an Occasional Paper from the South African Foundation.