Income Inequality South Africa
South africa suffers among the highest levels of inequality in the world when measured by the commonly used gini index.
Income inequality south africa. South africa has. The study documents the progress south africa has made in reducing poverty and inequality since the end of apartheid in 1994 with a focus on the period between 2006 and 2015. Namibia comoros south africa angola botswana lesotho and swaziland count among the continent s top ten most unequal countries and the. This of course offers only a part of the explanation.
Income inequality in south africa has deepened. Rising income inequality a threat to growth in sa warns moody s the ratings agency points to dire consequences of the wealth gap for the economy and the social fabric bl premium. The circumstances that exacerbate south africa s inequality are both historical and a result of years of policy uncertainty making it harder for ordinary south africans to claw their way out of. If anything the rainbow nation is even more divided now than.
Six charts explain south africa s inequality. In a poor pre colonial. South africa is known for its extreme income inequality which is one of the highest in the world ten percent of the population earn around 55 60 of all income compared to only 20 35 in the. Overall southern africa is the most unequal part of africa figures 3 and 4.
Inequality manifests itself through a skewed income distribution unequal access to opportunities and regional disparities. Country with one third of south africa s per capita income world bank 1997. 4 2 4 variations in income inequality in africa. 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.
Although south africa is known for its extreme income inequality the degree of wealth inequality is even greater.