Poverty gap index at $3 a day in South Africa
South Africa: Poverty gap index at $3 a day was 5.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in South Africa, 1993–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 5.1% for poverty gap index at $3 a day in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 47.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty gap index at $3 a day in South Africa peaked at 21.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.1%, in 2022.
That places South Africa 24th out of 120 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 19.3% | — |
| 2000 | 21.9% | +13.3% |
| 2005 | 15.4% | -29.5% |
| 2008 | 14.2% | -7.8% |
| 2010 | 9.6% | -32.4% |
| 2014 | 9.8% | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 5.1% | -48.1% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 5.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.4%, 12.4× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 5.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.1%, 46% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.3% | 19.3% | 19.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 17.2% | 14.2% | 21.9% | 3 |
| 2010s | 9.7% | 9.6% | 9.8% | 2 |
| 2020s | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More poverty & inequality data for South Africa
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 poverty gap index at $3 a day in South Africa?
- Poverty gap index at $3 a day in South Africa was 5.1% in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 21.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.1% in 2022.
- How does South Africa rank for poverty gap index at $3 a day?
- South Africa ranks 24th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is poverty gap index at $3 a day rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty gap index at $3 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The poverty gap index is a poverty measure that reflects both the prevalence and the depth of poverty. It is calculated as the share of population in poverty multiplied by the average shortfall from the poverty line (expressed as a % of the poverty line).