Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in South Africa
South Africa: Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex was 0.1656 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.1656
Change on year
down 4.0%
World rank
33rd
of 236 countries
All-time high
0.3912
in 1950
All-time low
0.1656
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in South Africa, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in South Africa stood at 0.1656. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is down 4.0% on the previous year and down 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in South Africa peaked at 0.3912 in 1950 and was at its lowest, 0.1656, in 2023.
That places South Africa 33rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex in South Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.3912 | — |
| 1951 | 0.3811 | -2.6% |
| 1952 | 0.3709 | -2.7% |
| 1953 | 0.3602 | -2.9% |
| 1954 | 0.3491 | -3.1% |
| 1955 | 0.3384 | -3.1% |
| 1956 | 0.3273 | -3.3% |
| 1957 | 0.3168 | -3.2% |
| 1958 | 0.3074 | -3.0% |
| 1959 | 0.2998 | -2.5% |
| 1960 | 0.2931 | -2.2% |
| 1961 | 0.2876 | -1.9% |
| 1962 | 0.2836 | -1.4% |
| 1963 | 0.2804 | -1.1% |
| 1964 | 0.2776 | -1.0% |
| 1965 | 0.2754 | -0.8% |
| 1966 | 0.2728 | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 0.2704 | -0.9% |
| 1968 | 0.268 | -0.9% |
| 1969 | 0.2654 | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 0.2625 | -1.1% |
| 1971 | 0.2593 | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 0.2561 | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 0.2528 | -1.3% |
| 1974 | 0.249 | -1.5% |
| 1975 | 0.2448 | -1.7% |
| 1976 | 0.2404 | -1.8% |
| 1977 | 0.2353 | -2.1% |
| 1978 | 0.2304 | -2.1% |
| 1979 | 0.2256 | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 0.22 | -2.5% |
| 1981 | 0.2151 | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 0.2098 | -2.4% |
| 1983 | 0.2047 | -2.4% |
| 1984 | 0.2001 | -2.3% |
| 1985 | 0.1955 | -2.3% |
| 1986 | 0.1917 | -1.9% |
| 1987 | 0.1883 | -1.8% |
| 1988 | 0.1852 | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 0.1831 | -1.1% |
| 1990 | 0.182 | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 0.181 | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 0.1814 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 0.1828 | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 0.1855 | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 0.1898 | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 0.2026 | +6.8% |
| 1997 | 0.2107 | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 0.2185 | +3.7% |
| 1999 | 0.2266 | +3.7% |
| 2000 | 0.2387 | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 0.2498 | +4.6% |
| 2002 | 0.2637 | +5.5% |
| 2003 | 0.2727 | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 0.2782 | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 0.2771 | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 0.2708 | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 0.2639 | -2.5% |
| 2008 | 0.2573 | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 0.2429 | -5.6% |
| 2010 | 0.2335 | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 0.2137 | -8.5% |
| 2012 | 0.2074 | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 0.199 | -4.1% |
| 2014 | 0.1921 | -3.5% |
| 2015 | 0.1881 | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 0.1833 | -2.6% |
| 2017 | 0.1785 | -2.6% |
| 2018 | 0.1771 | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 0.1755 | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 0.1675 | -4.6% |
| 2021 | 0.1733 | +3.5% |
| 2022 | 0.1726 | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.1656 | -4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.3442 | 0.2998 | 0.3912 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.2774 | 0.2654 | 0.2931 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.2456 | 0.2256 | 0.2625 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1994 | 0.1831 | 0.22 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1961 | 0.181 | 0.2266 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2615 | 0.2387 | 0.2782 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1948 | 0.1755 | 0.2335 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1697 | 0.1656 | 0.1733 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 30 Djibouti 0.1687 compare
- 31 Palestine, State of 0.1666 compare
- 32 Afghanistan 0.1662 compare
- 34 Tanzania, United Republic of 0.1649 compare
- 35 Uganda 0.1641 compare
- 36 Libya 0.1637 compare
More poverty & inequality data for South Africa
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 2.22 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,562 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -20.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 28.13 (2022)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 28.1% (2022)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in South Africa?
- Lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex in South Africa was 0.1656 in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3912 in 1950.
- What is the lowest lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1656 in 2023.
- How does South Africa rank for lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex?
- South Africa ranks 33rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is lifespan inequality: gini coefficient by sex rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); Aburto et al. (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Level of inequality in lifespans, measured between 0 and 1.