South Africa: Poverty at 1.90 USD per day

The latest value from 2022 is 17.4 percent, a decline from 27.9 percent in 2014. In comparison, the world average is 6.17 percent, based on data from 72 countries. Historically, the average for South Africa from 1993 to 2022 is 34.76 percent. The minimum value, 17.4 percent, was reached in 2022 while the maximum of 47.9 percent was recorded in 2000. See the global rankings for that indicator or use the country comparator to compare trends over time.

Definition: Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.00 a day at 2021 purchasing power adjusted prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.