A report by Standard Bank shows that more than 10 million households (10 193 205) in South Africa earn less than R7,167 per month,while a small elite population earns more than R196,668 per month.
The bank notes that 62.3% of households fall within the poorest income bracket – below R86,000 per annum, while middle income groups, who earn R86,001 – R1.48 million per annum – comprise a combined 26.4% of South African households.
The wealthiest households only account for 1.2% (R1.48 million – R2.36 million+ per annum), with those who earn more than R2.36 million, account for 0.4% of the household population – or 65,964 households.
In the 2011 Census, StatsSA said that were about 14.5 million households in South Africa – 77.6% lived in formal dwellings, 7.9% in traditional and 13.6% live in informal dwellings.
StatsSA put the average household income is R103,204 per year, or R8,600 per month.
Using data from the Bureau of Market Research (BMR), Standard Bank said that the number of households in SA now stands at approximately 16.363 million.
BMR puts the annual income classification of the South African consumer at:
According to Standard Bank, only 5.5% of South African households potentially have the ability to save, as they have positive net income balances each month.
Affluent households (R2,360,001+) meanwhile, have a savings potential of a as much as 65% of their after-tax income.
On an individual basis, Credit Suisse estimates that South Africa’s 50,000 dollar millionaires make up 0.16% of its adult population – meaning South Africa’s top 1% is around 310,000 people.
