South African rand weakened 1% at start of data-filled week. Photo: Getty Images
Money matters: THIS is how many South Africans live BELOW the food poverty line of R624 a month
Latest data from the Bureau of Market Research has revealed that the personal income divide between South Africans continues to grow.
South African rand weakened 1% at start of data-filled week. Photo: Getty Images
Latest data from the Bureau of Market Research (BMR) has revealed that the personal income divide between South Africans continues to grow with no sign of improvement likely any time soon.
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BMR said 75% of the employed adult population currently earn below R5 800 per month.
This is in contrast to 3.8% of the population that earns more than R48 000 per month.
According to the BusinessTech website, tax statistics published by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for the 2020/21 tax year show that approximately one million people in South Africa (6.7% of the working population) earn a taxable income higher than R500 000 (R42 000 a month).
Around 462 000 people (2.9%) earn more than R750 000 (R63 000 a month), while 242 000 people (1.6%) earn more than a million rand a year (R83 300 a month).
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In contrast to this, data published by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD) shows that 30.4 million people – 55.5% of the total population – live below the upper-bound poverty line of R1 335 a month, while a quarter (13.8 million people) live below the food poverty line of R624 a month.
Sad, but true.
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