Answer to Question #243152 in Macroeconomics for Precilla

Question

Discuss poverty in South Africa

Answer 1

5 Facts About Poverty in South Africa.

Nearly half the adult population of South Africa lives in poverty. The South African government measures poverty by three threshold points. The upper-bound poverty line (UBPL) indicates an income of 1,183 Rand ($70.90) per month. On the other hand, the lower-bound and food poverty lines indicate incomes of 785 Rand ($47.04) and 547 Rand ($32.78) respectively. According to the Department of Statistics in South Africa, 49.2% of the population over the age of 18 falls below the upper-bound poverty line.

Women are generally more vulnerable to poverty. According to South Africa’s Living Conditions Survey (LCS), 52.2% of women fall below the UBPL, compared to 46.1% of men. Additionally, the research shows that 74.8% of women-led households follow below the UBPL, whereas only 59.3% of men-led households do.

Inequality of all sorts characterizes access to income in South Africa. Whether in terms of wages, wealth or consumption, South Africa always places among the most unequal countries. In 2015, the country scored 0,65 in the Gini coefficient, one of the world’s highest. While inequality seems to have improved over the past 20 years when measured per capita, consumption inequality has actually increased since the end of apartheid. Similarly, even though black South Africans are reporting the largest increase in the average number of assets owned, within-group asset inequality among black South Africans has continued to grow. This puzzling trend seems to indicate that many of the problems from decades of apartheid have not disappeared, but rather have become a normal part of South African society.

Poverty headcounts in rural areas are significantly higher than that of urban areas. As of 2015, 25.2% of the population of urban areas lived below the UBPL, whereas 65.4% fell below the UBPL in rural areas.

COVID-19 has made poverty worse in South Africa.