Race remains the largest driver of inequality in South Africa, shaped by a legacy that has remained largely unchanged. The effects of apartheid continue to undermine progress toward equality. For decades, the World Bank has ranked South Africa as the most unequal country in the world.

This inequality continues to limit social mobility, reinforcing a cycle of wealth and poverty. Many individuals are effectively assigned a future of either “rags or riches” at birth. While Sustainable Development Goal 10 aims to reduce inequality, high income and opportunity gaps persist due to long-standing structural injustices.

Inequality in South Africa can largely be traced to three key factors: pre-income distribution, unequal access to education and wage disparities.

Pre-Income Distribution

Pre-income distribution refers to factors that influence wealth and opportunity before income is earned. These include land ownership, inheritance and race, all of which are “born into” factors that cannot be changed, giving individuals a natural advantage or disadvantage from birth.

In South Africa, the Gini coefficient remains at 0.63, with the top 20% of the population accounting for nearly 70% of income. In comparison, the bottom 20% is left with less than 5%. Race remains the most dominant determining factor in pre-income distribution. Fifty years after apartheid, its impact is still evident, leaving lasting reminders of the grip it once had on the country.

Some progress has been made toward transparency in income inequality. Recent Companies Act amendments now require firms to disclose CEO-to-worker pay ratios. The Labor Research Service reports that the current average across the JSE Top 40 companies is approximately 1,270:1. This aspect of inequality has been addressed most effectively through social grants.

With one of the largest social grant systems in the world, South Africa has reached millions of vulnerable citizens. These grants have been widely commended. By 2011, the number of grant recipients had increased by 13.6 million since 1998. Although the Gini coefficient still indicates significant inequality, social grants have helped stabilize the incomes of some of the country’s most impoverished households, preventing inequality levels from rising even further.

Wage Inequality

Even after overcoming barriers to employment, many South Africans continue to face inequality. On average, women in South Africa earn 12% less than their male counterparts. Almost half of this gap (45%) is attributed to women’s disproportionate employment in lower-paying firms.

Structural unemployment is another significant contributor to wage inequality. With the economy in a state of stagnation, the job market is suffering. With jobs themselves hard to come by and few in number, this is a significant driver of inequality.

In recent years, youth unemployment has risen to more than 46%, contributing to poverty and reinforcing the country’s slow economic growth. This has created another major barrier to reducing inequality in South Africa.

Access to Education

Schools in South Africa face significant resource constraints, resulting in wide gaps in students’ fundamental skills. This was highlighted in 2021, when it was found that approximately 80% of Grade 4 learners could not read for meaning, unable to comprehend or extract information from text. This outcome stems from a broader lack of resources.

Infrastructure and qualified teachers remain in short supply, particularly in poorer, rural communities. Still grappling with the consequences of its past, spatial inequality continues to limit access to education. “The legacy of colonialism and apartheid, rooted in racial and spatial segregation, continues to reinforce inequality,” United Nations Human Rights Office.

Spatial inequality was influenced greatly by the Group Areas Act of 1950. The initiative removed black families from urban areas, relocating them to underdeveloped, rural towns. As families were forced to settle in these new designated areas, generations later, spatial segregation persisted.

Lacking infrastructure, these areas were burdened with numerous encumbrances, allowing families living there to fall behind their thriving suburban peers. This stark contrast remains, most notably in the suburbs and townships of Johannesburg.

Conclusion

Pervasive structural injustices left over from apartheid still linger, despite staggering progress in reducing inequality in South Africa. The nation has nonetheless made impressive strides toward achieving SDG 10. These include social grants and legislative amendments that demand transparency on wage disparities, thereby perpetuating pressure and accountability.

– Maya Hollick

Maya Hollick is based in the United Kingdom and focuses on Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr