South Africans are still looking for a better life

By Thuthukani Ndebele

Head of research at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR)

Profiling the provinces, the December edition of Fast Facts from the Centre for Risk Analysis at the IRR, provides a snapshot view of South Africa’s nine provinces through the lens of key socio-economic indicators.

A brief summary for each province covers data on demographics, the economy, education, health and social security, living conditions, politics and government, as well as crime and security.

Among the key patterns to emerge from the data is the continuing movement of South Africans seeking a better life away from worse-off areas to better-performing provinces.

Gauteng and the Western Cape are the primary destinations.

Though Gauteng is the smallest of South Africa’s nine provinces, covering only 1.5 per cent of the country’s land area, it accounts for just over a third (34.1 per cent) of the national economy and has the highest GDP per head (R80 945). It also has the highest levels of in-migration – with net migration into the province between 2011 and 2016 totalling 981 290 people.

The Western Cape – where people enjoy the highest life expectancy, and where the labour market participation rate (68 per cent) and labour absorption rate (53.9 per cent) are the highest in the country – draws the second largest number of migrants in search of a better life. Net migration into the Western Cape between 2011 and 2016 amounted to 292 372 people.

People with higher levels of education are more likely to be absorbed into the labour market; in 2016, the Western Cape had the highest National Senior Certificate (matric) bachelor’s pass rate, the requirement for getting into university.

Gauteng, in turn, boasts the highest proportion of children up to age four attending an Early Childhood Development centre (48.1 per cent); the highest proportion of literate adults (90.6 per cent), and the highest proportion of adults with a degree or higher education qualification (8 per cent).

Among the provinces which people are most keen to leave is the Eastern Cape, which had the highest net out-migration of all provinces between 2011 and 2016 of 326 171.

Poverty, measured in terms of the Food Poverty Line – the Rand value below which individuals are unable to purchase or consume enough food – is highest in the Eastern Cape, at 41.4 per cent. The Eastern Cape also has the biggest proportion of children who have lost both parents, the lowest number of households living in formal dwellings (69.8 per cent) and the lowest number of households using electricity for heating (13.1 per cent).