South Africa
Data & Indicators
49,3
SDG 1.3.1 Effective coverage
2019
16,2
Affiliated to health insurance
2019
4,4
Public expenditure on healthcare
2017
5,5
Public expenditure on social protection
2018
60.041.996
Total population
2021
23.642.644
Labour force
2020
56
Poverty rate
2014
5.978
GDP per capita
2019
Sources: ILO, World Social Protection Database, based on SSI; ISSA/SSA, Social Security Programs Throughout the World; ILOSTAT, ECLAC, IMF, WHO, WB, UNDP, UNICEF, completed with national data sources. 2020 or latest available year.
Publications
Situation and Priorities
Social protection situation
In South Africa, social protection coverage rates are above the region’s average and comparable to other BRICS countries. Access to health care is granted either through the public health system, funded through general taxes, or through contributory medical schemes, which cover employees in the public or private sectors. The latter cover 17% of the population (2018). Health outcomes are low due to inequities between the public and private sector.Tax-financed social assistance is mainly provided through the Child Support Grant (means-tested, covers over 12 million children), the Disability Grant for working-age persons, and the Older Person’s Grant (means-tested grant for pensioners over 60, covered 3.2 million in 2016). Mandatory social insurance covers unemployment, sickness, maternity benefits, invalidity, and employment injury, although workers in the informal economy are largely excluded. Contributory pensions are provided through private providers.
COVID-19 and other crises
The social protection measures taken by the government to respond to the COVID-19 crisis include:- Temporarily increasing the benefit level of all social assistance grants for 4-6 months.
- Implementing a COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant for an initial 6 months (later extended another 3 months to January 2021) for unemployed persons who are not covered by other social protection programs, reaching at least 600,000 workers.
- Reserving R40 billion (US$ 2.9 billion) for income support payments for formal sector workers whose employers cannot pay their wages due to lockdown.
Government and social partner priorities
- Expand social protection coverage by extending current social security schemes and increasing tax-financed social protection for the non-covered population.
- Establish a National Social Security Fund to pay pensions, disability and survivor benefits, and unemployment benefits.