{
  "phase5ReleaseId": "africa-intelligence-country-profiles-v1.0.0",
  "canonicalReleaseId": "africa-infra-v1.0.0",
  "evidenceCutoff": "2026-08-10",
  "code": "ZA",
  "iso3": "ZAF",
  "name": "South Africa",
  "officialName": "Republic of South Africa",
  "geographyId": "geo-za",
  "profileUrl": "/tools/africa-infra-index/countries/za",
  "dataEndpoint": "/data/africa-intelligence/v1/countries/za.json",
  "coverage": {
    "sourced": 2,
    "possible": 5
  },
  "ranking": {
    "enabled": false,
    "position": null,
    "reason": "Fewer than three comparable national dimensions are available across all eight markets."
  },
  "trend": {
    "ready": false,
    "state": "BASELINE_ONLY",
    "snapshotCount": 1
  },
  "summary": "2 of 5 public evidence cells are sourced. 3 comparable national observations remain open.",
  "evidenceCells": [
    {
      "dimensionKey": "cloud",
      "indicatorId": "ind-cloud-big3-regions",
      "observationId": "obs-cloud-za-2026",
      "displayValue": "3 of 3 providers · 4 regions",
      "valueState": "OBSERVED",
      "valueNumeric": 4,
      "unit": "regions",
      "claimStatus": "OPERATIONAL",
      "confidence": "HIGH",
      "lifecycleStage": "OPERATIONAL",
      "comparability": "COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": true,
      "sourced": true,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-aws-africa-current",
        "src-azure-regions-current",
        "src-google-regions-current"
      ],
      "sourceCount": 3,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "AWS Cape Town; Azure South Africa North; restricted-access Azure South Africa West; Google Cloud africa-south1 Johannesburg.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Cloud regions",
      "domain": "CLOUD",
      "definition": "Count of operational AWS, Azure and Google Cloud regions physically in-country. Edge locations, Local Zones, interconnect sites and partner deployments are excluded. Restricted-access Azure regions remain explicitly disclosed.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-cloud-za-2026",
      "canonicalValueState": "OBSERVED",
      "canonicalComparableGap": false,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Counts operational AWS, Azure and Google Cloud regions only. Edge locations, partner deployments and points of presence are excluded."
    },
    {
      "dimensionKey": "cassava",
      "indicatorId": "ind-cassava-signal",
      "observationId": "obs-cassava-za-2026",
      "displayValue": "Deploying — official statement",
      "valueState": "OBSERVED",
      "valueNumeric": 2,
      "unit": "status_code",
      "claimStatus": "ANNOUNCED",
      "confidence": "MEDIUM",
      "lifecycleStage": "DEPLOYING",
      "comparability": "CONTEXT_ONLY",
      "indicatorComparable": true,
      "sourced": true,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": true,
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-cassava-tech-2026",
        "src-cassava-ai-2026"
      ],
      "sourceCount": 2,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "Cassava states that it is deploying an AI Factory in South Africa. Independent commercial operation is not inferred.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Cassava signal",
      "domain": "AI_COMPUTE",
      "definition": "Provider-specific status only: 2=deploying in official statement, 1=planned expansion market, 0=not named. It is not a national AI-compute measure.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-cassava-za-2026",
      "canonicalValueState": "OBSERVED",
      "canonicalComparableGap": false,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "A Cassava company signal is provider-specific context. It does not establish national AI-compute capacity or commercial operation."
    },
    {
      "dimensionKey": "dc",
      "indicatorId": "ind-national-dc-operational-mw",
      "observationId": "obs-dc-za-unavailable",
      "displayValue": "Not comparably sourced",
      "valueState": "MISSING",
      "unit": "MW",
      "claimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "confidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "lifecycleStage": "UNKNOWN",
      "comparability": "NOT_COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": false,
      "sourced": false,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [],
      "sourceCount": 0,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "No comparable national methodology. Facility figures are not summed.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Data-centre capacity",
      "domain": "DATA_CENTRE",
      "definition": "Operational national data-centre capacity under one consistent methodology.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-dc-za-unavailable",
      "canonicalValueState": "MISSING",
      "canonicalComparableGap": true,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Facility announcements and incompatible commercial estimates cannot be summed into national operational megawatts."
    },
    {
      "dimensionKey": "payments",
      "indicatorId": "ind-digital-payments-comparable",
      "observationId": "obs-payments-za-unavailable",
      "displayValue": "Not comparably sourced",
      "valueState": "MISSING",
      "unit": "index",
      "claimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "confidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "lifecycleStage": "NOT_APPLICABLE",
      "comparability": "NOT_COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": false,
      "sourced": false,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [],
      "sourceCount": 0,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "Awaiting regulator extraction under a common definition and period.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Payments",
      "domain": "PAYMENTS",
      "definition": "Common-period national payment activity under one regulator-sourced definition.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-payments-za-unavailable",
      "canonicalValueState": "MISSING",
      "canonicalComparableGap": true,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Subscriptions and accounts are not unique people. Contextual regulator counts do not fill the comparable national payments indicator."
    },
    {
      "dimensionKey": "grid",
      "indicatorId": "ind-grid-reliability-comparable",
      "observationId": "obs-grid-za-unavailable",
      "displayValue": "Not comparably sourced",
      "valueState": "MISSING",
      "unit": "index",
      "claimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "confidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "lifecycleStage": "NOT_APPLICABLE",
      "comparability": "NOT_COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": false,
      "sourced": false,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-worldbank-electricity-access"
      ],
      "sourceCount": 1,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "Electricity access is not grid reliability. No comparable series located.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Grid reliability",
      "domain": "POWER",
      "definition": "National electricity reliability under a common SAIDI/SAIFI or equivalent methodology. Electricity access is not a substitute.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-grid-za-unavailable",
      "canonicalValueState": "MISSING",
      "canonicalComparableGap": true,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Electricity access is not grid reliability. A compatible national reliability series is required."
    }
  ],
  "knownEvidence": [
    {
      "dimensionKey": "cloud",
      "indicatorId": "ind-cloud-big3-regions",
      "observationId": "obs-cloud-za-2026",
      "displayValue": "3 of 3 providers · 4 regions",
      "valueState": "OBSERVED",
      "valueNumeric": 4,
      "unit": "regions",
      "claimStatus": "OPERATIONAL",
      "confidence": "HIGH",
      "lifecycleStage": "OPERATIONAL",
      "comparability": "COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": true,
      "sourced": true,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-aws-africa-current",
        "src-azure-regions-current",
        "src-google-regions-current"
      ],
      "sourceCount": 3,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "AWS Cape Town; Azure South Africa North; restricted-access Azure South Africa West; Google Cloud africa-south1 Johannesburg.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Cloud regions",
      "domain": "CLOUD",
      "definition": "Count of operational AWS, Azure and Google Cloud regions physically in-country. Edge locations, Local Zones, interconnect sites and partner deployments are excluded. Restricted-access Azure regions remain explicitly disclosed.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-cloud-za-2026",
      "canonicalValueState": "OBSERVED",
      "canonicalComparableGap": false,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Counts operational AWS, Azure and Google Cloud regions only. Edge locations, partner deployments and points of presence are excluded."
    },
    {
      "dimensionKey": "cassava",
      "indicatorId": "ind-cassava-signal",
      "observationId": "obs-cassava-za-2026",
      "displayValue": "Deploying — official statement",
      "valueState": "OBSERVED",
      "valueNumeric": 2,
      "unit": "status_code",
      "claimStatus": "ANNOUNCED",
      "confidence": "MEDIUM",
      "lifecycleStage": "DEPLOYING",
      "comparability": "CONTEXT_ONLY",
      "indicatorComparable": true,
      "sourced": true,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": true,
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-cassava-tech-2026",
        "src-cassava-ai-2026"
      ],
      "sourceCount": 2,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "Cassava states that it is deploying an AI Factory in South Africa. Independent commercial operation is not inferred.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Cassava signal",
      "domain": "AI_COMPUTE",
      "definition": "Provider-specific status only: 2=deploying in official statement, 1=planned expansion market, 0=not named. It is not a national AI-compute measure.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-cassava-za-2026",
      "canonicalValueState": "OBSERVED",
      "canonicalComparableGap": false,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "A Cassava company signal is provider-specific context. It does not establish national AI-compute capacity or commercial operation."
    }
  ],
  "unavailableEvidence": [
    {
      "dimensionKey": "dc",
      "indicatorId": "ind-national-dc-operational-mw",
      "observationId": "obs-dc-za-unavailable",
      "displayValue": "Not comparably sourced",
      "valueState": "MISSING",
      "unit": "MW",
      "claimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "confidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "lifecycleStage": "UNKNOWN",
      "comparability": "NOT_COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": false,
      "sourced": false,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [],
      "sourceCount": 0,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "No comparable national methodology. Facility figures are not summed.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Data-centre capacity",
      "domain": "DATA_CENTRE",
      "definition": "Operational national data-centre capacity under one consistent methodology.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-dc-za-unavailable",
      "canonicalValueState": "MISSING",
      "canonicalComparableGap": true,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Facility announcements and incompatible commercial estimates cannot be summed into national operational megawatts."
    },
    {
      "dimensionKey": "payments",
      "indicatorId": "ind-digital-payments-comparable",
      "observationId": "obs-payments-za-unavailable",
      "displayValue": "Not comparably sourced",
      "valueState": "MISSING",
      "unit": "index",
      "claimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "confidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "lifecycleStage": "NOT_APPLICABLE",
      "comparability": "NOT_COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": false,
      "sourced": false,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [],
      "sourceCount": 0,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "Awaiting regulator extraction under a common definition and period.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Payments",
      "domain": "PAYMENTS",
      "definition": "Common-period national payment activity under one regulator-sourced definition.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-payments-za-unavailable",
      "canonicalValueState": "MISSING",
      "canonicalComparableGap": true,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Subscriptions and accounts are not unique people. Contextual regulator counts do not fill the comparable national payments indicator."
    },
    {
      "dimensionKey": "grid",
      "indicatorId": "ind-grid-reliability-comparable",
      "observationId": "obs-grid-za-unavailable",
      "displayValue": "Not comparably sourced",
      "valueState": "MISSING",
      "unit": "index",
      "claimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "confidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "lifecycleStage": "NOT_APPLICABLE",
      "comparability": "NOT_COMPARABLE",
      "indicatorComparable": false,
      "sourced": false,
      "sourcedZero": false,
      "providerSpecificContext": false,
      "sourceIds": [
        "src-worldbank-electricity-access"
      ],
      "sourceCount": 1,
      "periodEnd": "2026-08-10",
      "notes": "Electricity access is not grid reliability. No comparable series located.",
      "trendState": "BASELINE_ONLY",
      "label": "Grid reliability",
      "domain": "POWER",
      "definition": "National electricity reliability under a common SAIDI/SAIFI or equivalent methodology. Electricity access is not a substitute.",
      "canonicalObservationId": "obs-grid-za-unavailable",
      "canonicalValueState": "MISSING",
      "canonicalComparableGap": true,
      "supplementalContext": false,
      "decisionBoundary": "Electricity access is not grid reliability. A compatible national reliability series is required."
    }
  ],
  "supplementalContext": [],
  "evidencePriorities": [
    {
      "id": "research-za-dc-v1",
      "programId": "program-national-dc-capacity",
      "program": "National data-centre capacity",
      "priorityClass": "COMPARABILITY_BLOCKER",
      "status": "OPEN",
      "countryCode": "ZA",
      "countryName": "South Africa",
      "geographyId": "geo-za",
      "dimensionKey": "dc",
      "indicatorId": "ind-national-dc-operational-mw",
      "currentObservationId": "obs-dc-za-unavailable",
      "currentClaimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "currentConfidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "evidenceNeeded": "Operational national data-centre capacity under one consistent methodology.",
      "acceptanceCriteria": "A national operational-capacity figure under one disclosed, repeatable methodology with operational and planned capacity separated.",
      "rejectionRules": "Reject facility-only totals, undisclosed commercial estimates, planned capacity presented as operational, and MVA-to-MW conversion without engineering evidence.",
      "owner": "HUMAN_RESEARCH_REVIEW",
      "automaticPromotionAllowed": false,
      "requiresSchemaValidation": true,
      "requiresSourceReview": true,
      "requiresChecksum": true,
      "requiresHumanApproval": true
    },
    {
      "id": "research-za-payments-v1",
      "programId": "program-comparable-payments",
      "program": "Comparable national payments",
      "priorityClass": "COMPARABILITY_BLOCKER",
      "status": "OPEN",
      "countryCode": "ZA",
      "countryName": "South Africa",
      "geographyId": "geo-za",
      "dimensionKey": "payments",
      "indicatorId": "ind-digital-payments-comparable",
      "currentObservationId": "obs-payments-za-unavailable",
      "currentClaimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "currentConfidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "evidenceNeeded": "Common-period national payment activity under one regulator-sourced definition.",
      "acceptanceCriteria": "A regulator or central-bank national series using a common activity definition and period that can be applied across all eight markets.",
      "rejectionRules": "Reject account or subscription counts as unique citizens, regional figures assigned to a country, and metrics with incompatible periods or definitions.",
      "owner": "HUMAN_RESEARCH_REVIEW",
      "automaticPromotionAllowed": false,
      "requiresSchemaValidation": true,
      "requiresSourceReview": true,
      "requiresChecksum": true,
      "requiresHumanApproval": true
    },
    {
      "id": "research-za-grid-v1",
      "programId": "program-grid-reliability",
      "program": "National grid reliability",
      "priorityClass": "COMPARABILITY_BLOCKER",
      "status": "OPEN",
      "countryCode": "ZA",
      "countryName": "South Africa",
      "geographyId": "geo-za",
      "dimensionKey": "grid",
      "indicatorId": "ind-grid-reliability-comparable",
      "currentObservationId": "obs-grid-za-unavailable",
      "currentClaimStatus": "UNAVAILABLE",
      "currentConfidence": "INSUFFICIENT",
      "evidenceNeeded": "National electricity reliability under a common SAIDI/SAIFI or equivalent methodology. Electricity access is not a substitute.",
      "acceptanceCriteria": "A national SAIDI, SAIFI or equivalent reliability series with method, period and coverage disclosed.",
      "rejectionRules": "Reject electricity-access percentages as reliability, isolated outage anecdotes, and non-national series without a defensible national method.",
      "owner": "HUMAN_RESEARCH_REVIEW",
      "automaticPromotionAllowed": false,
      "requiresSchemaValidation": true,
      "requiresSourceReview": true,
      "requiresChecksum": true,
      "requiresHumanApproval": true
    }
  ],
  "decisionBoundaries": [
    {
      "key": "cloud",
      "label": "Cloud regions",
      "rule": "Counts operational AWS, Azure and Google Cloud regions only. Edge locations, partner deployments and points of presence are excluded."
    },
    {
      "key": "cassava",
      "label": "Cassava signal",
      "rule": "A Cassava company signal is provider-specific context. It does not establish national AI-compute capacity or commercial operation."
    },
    {
      "key": "dc",
      "label": "Data-centre capacity",
      "rule": "Facility announcements and incompatible commercial estimates cannot be summed into national operational megawatts."
    },
    {
      "key": "payments",
      "label": "Payments",
      "rule": "Subscriptions and accounts are not unique people. Contextual regulator counts do not fill the comparable national payments indicator."
    },
    {
      "key": "grid",
      "label": "Grid reliability",
      "rule": "Electricity access is not grid reliability. A compatible national reliability series is required."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "src-aws-africa-current",
      "publisher": "Amazon Web Services",
      "title": "AWS in Africa — Africa (Cape Town) Region",
      "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/local/africa/",
      "sourceClass": "OFFICIAL_INVENTORY",
      "retrievalStatus": "REACHABLE",
      "lastCheckedAt": "2026-08-10"
    },
    {
      "id": "src-cassava-tech-2026",
      "publisher": "Cassava Technologies",
      "title": "Cassava scales African AI infrastructure with NVIDIA-powered AI Factories",
      "url": "https://www.cassavatechnologies.com/cassava-scales-african-ai-infrastructure-with-nvidia-powered-ai-factories-to-accelerate-sovereign-data-capabilities/",
      "sourceClass": "COMPANY_ANNOUNCEMENT",
      "retrievalStatus": "REACHABLE",
      "lastCheckedAt": "2026-08-10"
    },
    {
      "id": "src-cassava-ai-2026",
      "publisher": "Cassava Technologies",
      "title": "Cassava scales African AI infrastructure with NVIDIA-powered AI Factories",
      "url": "https://www.cassava.ai/2026/03/18/cassava-scales-african-ai-infrastructure-with-nvidia-powered-ai-factories-to-accelerate-sovereign-data-capabilities/",
      "sourceClass": "COMPANY_ANNOUNCEMENT",
      "retrievalStatus": "CARRIED_FORWARD",
      "lastCheckedAt": "2026-08-08"
    },
    {
      "id": "src-google-regions-current",
      "publisher": "Google Cloud",
      "title": "Compute Engine regions and zones",
      "url": "https://docs.cloud.google.com/compute/docs/regions-zones",
      "sourceClass": "OFFICIAL_INVENTORY",
      "retrievalStatus": "REACHABLE",
      "lastCheckedAt": "2026-08-10"
    },
    {
      "id": "src-azure-regions-current",
      "publisher": "Microsoft",
      "title": "Azure regions list",
      "url": "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/reliability/regions-list",
      "sourceClass": "OFFICIAL_INVENTORY",
      "retrievalStatus": "REACHABLE",
      "lastCheckedAt": "2026-08-10"
    },
    {
      "id": "src-worldbank-electricity-access",
      "publisher": "World Bank",
      "title": "Access to electricity (% of population), EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS",
      "url": "https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS",
      "sourceClass": "REFERENCE_DATASET",
      "retrievalStatus": "CARRIED_FORWARD",
      "lastCheckedAt": "2026-08-08"
    }
  ]
}