Most South Africans live in poverty, but the curse of age and location makes it worse for children and people who live in rural areas. Statistics SA investigated poverty in South Africa between 2006 and 2023 and published its third report on poverty trends today, which shows that children and youth still bear the burden of poverty, although the pattern has changed for other age groups. According to the report, South Africa has made progress in reducing poverty across all age groups, but the progress has not been equal.
It points out that children remained the most vulnerable, with nearly half of them still living below the poverty line in 2023. Rural areas also continue to face deep poverty, while older people saw the most dramatic improvements. Statistics SA says these patterns show how age and location shape the experience of poverty, and why understanding these dynamics matters in reducing poverty.
Poverty and age often move hand in hand, affecting people in different ways across their life cycle. The report by Statistics SA,Poverty trends in South Africa: An examination of absolute poverty between 2006 and 2023, sheds new light on how poverty evolved over nearly two decades. Drawing on data from the Income and Expenditure Survey for 2022-23, the report analyses poverty levels among individuals and households, providing a detailed breakdown by various demographic, socio-economic and geographic characteristics, including age.
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Children under 17 still most vulnerable group making up 43.1% of poor The report points out that children under the age of 17 remain one of the most vulnerable groups in the country, making up 43.1% of the poor population in 2023. Between 2006 and 2023, the pattern of poverty starts high among children and then declines steadily through the working-age group (18 to 54 years), before starting to increase again for people older than 55. However, Statistics SA says, the trend shifted slightly between 2015 and 2023, with poverty increasing among people between the ages of 55 and 64, but falling among people older than 65. This chart shows the poverty measures by age group: Between 2006 and 2023, people older than 65 experienced the largest improvement in their poverty status, with their headcount dropping by 54.8% (a decline of 30.6 percentage points), followed by children with a notable decrease of 29.3% (a drop of 20.3 percentage points).
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