Children account for over 43% of South Africa's poor, Stats SA reveals

Children in South Africa remain one of the most vulnerable groups in the country, making up more than 43% of the poor population.

The jarring figure is part of the latest Poverty Trends Report released by Stats SA on Thursday.

Overall, 23 million people in South Africa are considered poor. This is a drop of roughly 2.5 million between 2015 and 2023.

Stats SA says children from birth to the age of 17 are the most affected, with the trend declining steadily through the working-age group of 18 to 54 years.

Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke commented on the figures:

“Those aged under 24 have notably higher rates of lower-bound poverty compared to older ages. Those aged 0 to 17 years, as well as 18 to 24 years, tended to have a higher share of poverty compared to older age cohorts.”

Maluleke says that while there is a strong link between education level and poverty, roughly a quarter of the poor population aged 18 and above have completed Matric.

“Poverty has continued to decline across all educational levels except for a slight increase for those with higher education.”