JOHANNESBURG, June 10 -- For the first time in more than two decades, the news out of South Africa's economy is the kind its government has waited a generation to deliver. Africa's most industrialised economy expanded by 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2026, its sixth consecutive quarter of growth, according to data released on Tuesday by the national statistics agency. The figures landed days after Fitch Ratings lifted the country's sovereign credit rating for the first time in roughly 21 years, a pairing that has handed Pretoria its most encouraging economic week in memory.

The growth was broad on the production side. Finance led, expanding 0.9 percent, while agriculture grew 3.9 percent in its own sixth straight quarter of ga...