Development is constituted by multiple factors. And four of these factors are rural to urban migrations, distribution of income, growth and structural change, and political transformation. 

Political growth is generally accompanied by economic and socio-cultural growth.  This growth has an impact on the economic growth and the impact may be good or bad. In terms of South Africa, the political freedom that came with democracy increased the economic gain of the country there further leading to the country becoming more developed.

Rural to urban migrations occur when people leave rural areas and move to urban areas in search of better opportunities in terms of work or even education. These migrations usually benefit the migrants and also the economy. In South Africa, rural-urban migration trends are increasing at a fast rate, from 15 per 1000 in 2001 to about 28 per 1000 in 2011, with people aged 0-14 years joining the migration.

Distribution of income is the way in which the wealth and income of a nation are divided fairly among its population.  This results in improved incomes of all and a sense of equality among the citizens of a country.  However, income distribution has some issues, for instance, income inequality in South Africa has deepened. According to the latest figures from the World Inequality Database, the top 1% of South African earners take home almost 20% of all income in the country, while the top 10% take home 65%. The remaining 90% of South African earners get only 35% of total income. 

Growth and structural change focus on the economy's activity shifts from the primary sector through the secondary sector and to the tertiary sector. Different countries in different stages of development depend on different sectors of the economy.  At the early stage of development, countries depend on the primary sector, countries that are developing depend on the secondary sector, and finally developed countries depend on the tertiary and possibly in the quaternary sector. South Africa depends on different types of sectors to drive the economy such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, financial services, transport, mining, agriculture, and tourism. The country makes use of all three sectors.