The Citizen reports that income inequality in SA has once again been demonstrated by the findings of a report on personal income estimates.

The Household Wealth Research Division of the Bureau of Market Research’s report on personal income estimates for SA from 2018 to 2022 found that 73.7% of the adult population earned below R73,351 per year (less than about R6,110 per month), while only 3.3% earned more than R625,992 per year (about R52,170 per month). Low income earners accounted for 10% of cash flow income, high income earners accounted for 44.8%, while 23% of the adult population relied mainly on grants as their cash flow income source. The most alarming finding was that 32.1% of the adult (older than 15) population did not receive any form of cash flow income, instead depending on in-kind transfers and support from friends and relatives. Women also got the short end of the stick in respect of income inequality. The report showed that although 47.3% of the adult population were male, they earned 58.5% of the cash flow income in the country. According to the report, total income increased from R5.19 trillion in 2021 to R5.64 trillion in 2022, an annual increase of 8.7%. The main source of growth originated from investment incomes, recording an annual increase of 30.5%, while the growth in the other sources of income remained relatively muted at close to 5%. The research also showed that there was a positive correlation between educational qualifications and income earning potential.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ina Opperman at The Citizen

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