South Africa

Poverty in South Africa peaked following the 2008 economic downturn but has now begun to decrease. The decrease has been so dramatic that poverty levels have dipped below pre-2008 levels. South Africa is the largest economy in Africa, and in some ways, South Africa’s situation predicts all of Africa’s future. If this is true, the decreasing poverty level of South Africa may spread across the continent. The South African government measures poverty as subsisting on $2 per day, or 524 rand per month, per person. In 1995, the poverty rate in South Africa was 53 percent of the population. By 2001, that number had risen to 58 percent. In 2008, the poverty rate had dropped to 48 percent, before the economic downturn had reached its ...