Hence, the primary contribution of this paper will be to provide a profile of poverty and inequality in south africa over the period 19952005. Oct 06, 2015 but inequality is not only still very high in south africa, but has been rising and in some ways income inequality is even higher today than 20 years ago. Crime, inequality, south africa jel classification numbers. South african poverty and inequality assessment discussion note draft for discussion only draft january 20161 contents 1. A report released by statistics south africa paints a grim picture of inequality in the country. South africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. South africa has long been known as one of the most unequal societies in the world. There are estimates that just over twenty two million people in south africa live in poverty dbsa, 2005a. South africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world, but not the poorest with reference to income.
In the 1990s, south africas gini coefficienta measure that reflects inequality, where zero is absolute equality and one is absolute inequalitywas, at 0. In south africa, by contrast, income inequality has hardly changed despite the introduction of social transfers that now reach 16 million poor south africans. South africa has a long and infamous history of high inequality with an overbearing racial. We can see that the inequality in south africa has worsened over time by looking at the countrys gini index score. The south african multidimensional poverty index 28 v. According to his diagnosis of contemporary political economy in south africa. South africa is known as one of the most unequal countries in the world, reporting a percapita expenditure gini coefficient of 0,67 in 2006, dropping to 0,65 in 2015.
East africa, the sahel, and north africa have the lowest levels of inequality in africa, but these are still relatively high in global comparisons. Pdf inclusive innovation and inequality in south africa. As isobel frye and her coresearchers put it, poverty and inequality in south africa have a very clear racial bias as a result of the colonial and apartheid policies or racial discrimination. Therefore, the concentration of poverty lies predominantly with black africans, women, rural areas and black youth. A history of inequality in south africa, 16522002 request pdf. Poverty and inequality in namibia the most recent figures on poverty and inequality used by the namibian government are derived from the 200304 namibia household income and expenditure survey nhies, which claimed a reduction of 55% in terms of absolute poverty between independence and 200304 cbs 2006. Poverty, growth, and inequality in subsaharan africa.
Gender inequality, otherwise known as sexism, refers to the imbalanced or unequal treatment and perception of individuals based on their sexes. The journal of the helen suzman foundation africa portal on. Drivers of inequity in economic growth patterns 11 v. Social inequality is a more pressing socioeconomic challenge than poverty in contemporary south africa. While the end of apartheid allowed equal rights for all south africans regardless of race, modernday south africa struggles to correct the social inequalities created by decades of apartheid.
Injustice given to the women seems to be increasing. At the top end of the income scale, some south africans lived lives of luxury, with swimming pools, holiday homes, and imported sports cars in the garage. Third, lack of upward mobility in the society may be linked to the prevalence of. Inequality in postapartheid south africa wikipedia. A multidimensional diagnostic of inequality statistics. Poverty and inequality in south africa have racial, gender, spatial and age dimensions. Social mobility and equal opportunity remain alien concepts for far too many people in the region. The legacy of inequality still persists in south african schools. May 07, 2014 south africa will remain a hugely unequal society for a long time may 7, 2014 12. Jul 19, 2018 contemporary south africa has been described as a country with extreme inequality and we are, in fact, a total outlier in terms of income inequality. This article argues that transformative social policy. States, markets, and inequality 1 the relation between public policy and economic inequality has been the focus of considerable research in recent years. Due to structural inequalities in south africa and the global economy, the benefits of economic growth have accrued to elites.
Wealth in africa is also highly concentrated, with the top ten per cent owning close to 78% of all assets. Distribution of per capita income from social grants by incomedecile. In south africa, poverty, inequality in socioeconomic status ses and inequality in access to basic social services between population groups, provinces, and socioeconomic groups are typical and extensive 5,6 and these help to exacerbate inequalities in health. South african poverty and inequality assessment discussion note. Africa, while providing a selective survey of poverty reduction strategies implemented in both prsp and nonprsp countries in the continent. It looks at trends such as access to basic services, healthcare and the inequality in the labour. Berry reports on attempts to communicate across mainstream and marxist. Introduction speaking in south africa s parliament in 1998 in the debate on the report of the truth and reconciliation commission, thendeputy president thabo mbeki argued that material conditions have divided our country into two nations, the one black. The case for free higher education in south africa. We use data from the institute for justice and reconciliati ons south african reconciliation barometer sarb to advance an understanding of what underpins individual perceptions of inequality as the biggest division in south africa.
The study of inequality in african societies items. A history of inequality in south africa, 16522002 article in south african journal of economics 7. Various stakeholders in south africa try to explain the socioeconomic inequalities that exist. South africa will remain a hugely unequal society for a long time. The multidimensional poverty in south africa showed a significant decrease in the proportion of households that were poor between 2000 and 2011 from 17. Introduction speaking in south africas parliament in 1998 in the debate on the report of the truth and reconciliation commission, thendeputy president thabo mbeki argued that material conditions have divided our country into two nations, the one black. Sep 19, 2004 as well, a majority of the wealth upper class in south africa is concentrated in gauteng 52%. Under apartheid, inequality in the distribution of incomes in south africa remained acute despite economic growth. Berry, it reflects on the debates and recommendations made during a september 1975 seminar on inequality in africa. Inequality remains high partly because the number of jobs created over the past 20 years barely kept pace with growth in the labour force. South africa got its first female president of the supreme court of appeal justice mandisa maya.
Gender inequality is not new in traditional african society. The extreme inequality evident in south africa means that one sees destitution, hunger and overcrowding side byside with affluence. There are a number of other countries that are clearly very unequal some major oil. While social grants and remittances have made the most notable headway in bridging the chasm between the runaway riches of south africa s wealthy few and the threadbare. Gini coefficient of per capita income from statistics south africa, 2014, table 5, linked at 20052006 to series from 1993 from leibbrandt et al 2010a, table 5.
South africa is acknowledged as having the highest gini coefficient in the world. Apartheid philosophy separate development of the four racial groups africans or bantu 78% of population divided into 9 nations zulu, xhosa, swazi, venda, tsonga, pedi. Social inequality specifically, inequalities in access to public assets and. Finally, actual estimates of poverty and inequality in south africa and the world are examined, with a particular focus on trying to assess the trend in recent years. Inequality haunts south african students al jazeera english.
There is, thus, no doubt that southern africa needs a fresh and different approach to address the current socioeconomic crisis. This indicates that south africas rate of poverty alleviation has been slowing down from 2011. According to the palma ratio, the top 10% of the population read more. Shares of top 1 per cent in total gross income from wid. Crime and local inequality in south africa jdefinal031209.
Understanding poverty and inequality in south africa. Inequality in south africa oxfam digital repository. Second, terreblanche argues that, despite south africa s successful transition to democracy, its society is as unequal today, if not more so, than ever before. Sep 30, 2015 depending on the variable used to measure inequality, the time period, and the dataset, south africas gini coefficient ranges from about 0.
As well, a majority of the wealth upper class in south africa is concentrated in gauteng 52%. This 1976 piece from our archives connects to both our what is inequality. Gender inequalities in south african society south africas national policy framework for womens empowerment and gender equality, which was drafted by the national office on the status of women, was the focus of two hearings held in durban last month. A history of inequality in south africa, 16522002 by. A policy framework for addressing inequality in developing. These gave participants from government and civil society the opportunity to. A history of inequality in south africa is quintessentially concerned with the longrun analysis of south african economic history as a capstone from which to develop a vision of economic and social policy making in the new south africa. The authors would like to thank statistics south africa with help in the generation of our data set.
South africas relationship to the fourth industrial revolution. Even if the bold vision of the social security committee had been scaled down, the result would probably have been. Inequality in south africa gavin keeton is an associate professor at rhodes university economics department. Gender inequality in south africa south africa ranks fourth out of 87 countries covered by the 2012 social institutions and gender index of the organisation for economic cooperation and development. For nonwhite south african males during the final decades of apartheid, returns to schooling were less than five percent for primary and around ten percent for secondary for most of this time period. Is south africa the most unequal society in the world. Addressing wealth, income, opportunity 11th february 2018 9th february 2018 by gareth van zyl johannesburg in the second part of a series focusing on inequality, sam van coller in this piece digs deeper into the causes and possible solutions for south africas bulging inequality problem.
However, in the south african context the vital concern of production needs to be considered. Why south africa is the worlds most unequal society. First, the book analyzes the work of numerous historians on inequality and exploitation in south africa around a single theme. About 40% of south africans lived below the lower bound poverty line in 2015, up from 36.
Housing conditions, access to education, health, and assets 22 iii. D63, d74, r12 1 university of california, berkeley, ca, usa, and dean for america, vt, usa. South africa is losing the next generation of workers and leaders, while the very wealthy fear for their property and lives in the face of one of the worlds worst epidemics of serious crime. Development strategy and policy analysis unit department of. Class, race, and inequality in south africa on jstor. Vol 26 1, 2011 2 historical roots of inequality in south africa by francis wilson introduction of the many problems facing the south african economy the four most intractable relate to. After two decades of democracy, economic inequality in south africa remains very high. The gini coefficient is a measure of income inequality in a country. The source of the inequality that plagues south africa is multifaceted. South african poverty and inequality assessment discussion. Three million people, 7% of the population, were living. For south africa, the danger is more immediate because inequalities are along racial lines because even though it has been 20 years into democracy, economic privileges are still drawn between racial lines. The events of 2015 confounded those who made unflattering observations about the social consciousness of students, allegedly consumed by the effects of being bornfree and without a. South africa is an uppermiddle income country, but is a country of stark contrasts.
Traditional growth strategies are inadequate the traditional strategies to foster growth as promoted. Some of the earliest estimates of the returns to schooling in south africa go as far back as the late 1960s moll, 1992, moll, 1996, moll, 1998. A number of countries, for example namibia and seychelles, have higher gini coefficients the measure most often used to measure income distribution than does south africa1. South africas inequality is getting worse as it struggle. Reflections on poverty and inequality in south africa. While access to education is improving, there are concerns that standards are slipping and fewer students are finishing school. Unemployment, poor education programs and a collapsing public health system all play a role. At present, in africa mostly violated and then comes the rest of the world where gender inequality is perceived to bloom. Policy considerations in an emerging democracy jean d.
South africa is a good example of a country where a record of economic growth has not necessarily translated into improvements in economic well being for the majority of the population. Citizenship is a contentious notion as its meaning is somewhat fluid and defined in a flexible manner depending on location, context, among other factors. What south africa can teach us as worldwide inequality. The nature, size and pattern of inequality in africa 3 africas growthpovertyinequality nexus 9 iv. In south africa, research by saldru indicates that income. Microeconomic and institutional considerations 15 natural resources and inequality 16 governance and institutions 22. The foundation for much of this work is espingandersens three worlds of welfare capi. In a final chapter, he argues that the current system of neoliberal democratic capitalism is inappropriate to a developing country such as south africa. In this major work which took eight years to complete professor sampie terreblanche, a wellknown afrikaner academic of the university of stellenbosch, provides an analysis of economic relations in south africa. Gender inequalities in south african society south africa s national policy framework for womens empowerment and gender equality, which was drafted by the national office on the status of women, was the focus of two hearings held in durban last month. A number of countries, for example namibia and seychelles, have higher gini coefficients the measure most. When considering progress in terms of social cohesion in the south african. Triegaardt, phd policy analyst adru abstract since the advent of the new democratic dispensation, the south african government has developed policies which have focused on poverty alleviation.
Under apartheid, whites held almost all political power in south africa, with other races almost completely marginalised from the political process. Inequalitythe state of not being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities1is a concept very much at the heart of social justice theories. The eradication of all forms of inequality was probably the most important aspiration for people predemocracy. Essay about the extent of inequality in south africa is. Gender, social cohesion and everyday struggles in south africa. Inequality in south africa is still being perpetuated today.
This is in fact, not very much than it is now asserted in different countries. It is often said to be the most unequal, but that is incorrect. Changes in multidimensional poverty at the national level 29 vi. Introduction at the outset of this report, it was noted that inequality of outcomes and that of opportunities are highly. Nov 03, 2014 south africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. May 12, 2015 various stakeholders in south africa try to explain the socioeconomic inequalities that exist.