Johannesburg: While reflecting on the gains and challenges of South Africa's democratic journey, Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has welcomed the rise in earnings among black South Africans, saying this has significantly changed the racial composition of the country's middle- and upper-income earners over the past three decades of democracy.
According to South African Government News Agency, the General Household Survey by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows that the proportion of black households earning more than R75,000 per month increased from 29% in 2012 to 41% in 2024. The number of black South Africans in the middle- and upper-income brackets, defined as those earning more than R22,000 a month, quadrupled to more than 7 million in 2024 from 2012. Overall, the total number of people in these income groups rose from about 4 million to more than 11 million over the period (2012 - 2024), the Minister said on Wednesday, tabling the Budget Vote for Stats SA in parliament.
Ntshavheni used the Budget Vote to reflect on evidence presented through Stats SA data over the past 30 years, noting that in 1996, for the first time in South Africa's history, the organisation undertook a national study to count every person, in every community and language, as equal citizens of a free South Africa.
In December 2025, Stats SA released the report "Poverty Trends in South Africa: An examination of absolute poverty between 2006 and 2023." The report indicates a significant improvement in poverty reduction. The percentage of the population considered to be below the Lower Bound Poverty Line (LBPL) decreased from 57.5% in 2006 to 37.9% in 2023, with the number of LBPL poor in millions similarly decreasing from 27.3 million in 2006 to 23.2 million in 2023. Furthermore, the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty (below the Food Poverty Line) decreased from 27.4% in 2006 to 17.6% in 2023, translating to 10.8 million people living in extreme poverty or food poverty line, equalling 2.2 million fewer people living in food poverty line in 2023 compared to 2006.
Despite the progress, Ntshavheni expressed concern that 10.8 million South Africans still live below the food poverty line. She said the government would continue using poverty data to improve the targeting of developmental policies and intervention programmes. Stats SA in the 2003 - 2026 Poverty Report asserts that education remains one of the most potent tools for fighting poverty. It is for this reason that the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act is non-negotiable.
Turning to the persistent challenge of unemployment, Ntshavheni referred to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for 2026, which showed employment declined by 345,000 people to 16.8 million in the first quarter, down from 17.1 million in the previous quarter. The Minister noted that the decline in employment opportunities comes at a time when infrastructure investment is gaining momentum. The Minister of Finance has announced a R1 trillion allocation for infrastructure development in the 2026 National Budget, while the sixth edition of the South African Investment Conference secured more than R1.5 trillion in investment commitments.
According to Stats SA's Migration Module of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate among foreign-born persons in 2022 stood at 18.2%, compared to 34% for locally born persons. The absorption rate of foreign-born persons was 64% and that of locally born persons was 37.7%, meaning that foreign-born persons were twice as likely to be employed in South Africa than locally born persons. The Minister added that the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the Department of Home Affairs are actively addressing the presence of undocumented foreign nationals.
As of 31 December 2025, South Africa recorded 55,190 refugees and 82,410 asylum seekers. Cabinet has directed the Department of Employment and Labour to intensify inspections of workplaces to ensure compliance with employment laws across vulnerable sectors such as hospitality, farms, trucking, and construction, amongst others. Municipalities have also been instructed to strengthen enforcement of municipal by-laws, particularly trading by-laws, while South Africans were urged not to sub-lease business licences.