Infographics

Infographic: Exploring poverty in South Africa’s provinces

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The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s poorest province, both in its percentage of poor households and the number of its people who live in poverty. The province with the smallest share of households in poverty is the Western Cape.

Infographic comparing the level of poverty in South Africa's nine provinces, using data from the Statistics South Africa Community Survey 2016. The graphic compares the population in each province, the percentage of households living in poverty, and the number of people living in poverty.

KwaZulu-Natal is the second-poorest province in its number of people living in poverty, but North West has a larger share of poor households in its population.

The Northern Cape has the fewest poor people, but 6.6% of households in its small population live in poverty.

In Gauteng, only 4.6% of the population live in poverty. But the poverty experienced in Gauteng, the wealthiest province, is the most intense.

Poverty in South Africa’s nine provinces

Population Households Average household size Households in poverty People in poverty (based on population)* People in poverty (based on households)* Intensity of poverty
EASTERN CAPE
6,996,976 1,773,395 3.9 12.7% 888,616 878,363 43.3%
FREE STATE
2,834,714 946,639 3 5.5% 155,909 156,195 41.7%
GAUTENG
13,399,724 4,951,137 2.7 4.6% 616,387 614,931 44.1%
KWAZULU-NATAL
11,065,240 2,875,843 3.8 7.7% 852,023 841,472 42.5%
LIMPOPO
5,799,090 1,601,083 3.7 11.5% 666,895 681,261 42.3%
MPUMALANGA
4,335,964 1,238,861 3.5 7.8% 338,205 338,209 42.7%
NORTHERN CAPE
1,193,780 353,709 3.4 8.8% 105,053 105,830 42.5%
NORTH WEST
3,748,436 1,248,766 3 6.6% 247,397 247,256 42.0%
WESTERN CAPE
6,279,730 1,933,876 3.2 2.7% 169,553 167,087 40.1%

Sources

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Researched, written and designed by MC Alexander.
Updated 17 July 2018.

Categories: Infographics, People, The land

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