South Africa’s inequality has not changed in the past decade, with the richest 10% holding about 86% of the country’s total wealth, underlining the mammoth tasks before the government to lift millions of citizens out of poverty. Data from the latest World Inequality Report, which says inequality is a political choice, shows the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom has increased over the past decade — a period that saw economic stagnation plus a downturn in foreign investment “Average income per capita is around €8,800 purchasing power parity (PPP), and average wealth stands near €29,000 (PPP). The income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50% increased, moving from 103 to 118 between 2014-24,” the report states.
“Overall, income and wealth are extremely concentrated in South Africa, with persistent disparities and limited change over time.” South Africa’s deep inequality has seen successive governments since 1994 increase spending on the “social wage”, with about 18-million citizens receiving social grants. The World Inequality Report 2026 updates the 2022 and 2018 editions and finds that while the world has got richer it has also become more unequal. “Inequality is a political choice.
It is the result of our policies, institutions and governance structures. The costs of escalating inequality are clear: widening divides, fragile democracies and a climate crisis borne most heavily by those least responsible,” the report reads. “But the possibilities of reform are equally clear.
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Where redistribution is strong, taxation is fair and social investment is prioritised, inequality narrows. The tools exist. The challenge is political will.
“The choices we make in the coming years will determine whether the global economy continues down a path of extreme concentration or moves toward shared prosperity.” But the possibilities of reform are equally clear. The report comes as Stats SA reported the country’s poverty headcount has dropped sharply over the past 17 years, with the proportion of citizens living below the lower‑bound poverty line falling to 37.9% in 2023. This is according to Stats SA’s newly rebased poverty lines.
The line, set at R1,300 per person a month in 2023 prices, captures households struggling to balance food and non‑food essentials. The decline from 57.5% in 2006 represents a 19.6 percentage‑point reduction, a shift the government hailed as evidence that social protection and targeted interventions are making a measurable impact.
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