Macro Review

These monthly reports provide in-depth assessments of the trends shaping specific current social, economic, and political risks in South Africa. The Macro Review is supplemented by a monthly lunchtime seminar at the CRA’s headquarters in Johannesburg.

South Africa in brief

This edition provides an overview of key statistical trends in South Africa drawn from the CRA’s upcoming Socio-Economic Survey of South Africa 2020.

Key takeaways:

South Africa’s race profile shows that the White population (which was previously the second biggest cohort after the Black population) has been overtaken by the Coloured population.
There were 382 people per police officer and 116 people per private security officer in 2018/19. The murder rate was 36 per 100 000 people.
Diseases/conditions which are the leading causes of death are: tuberculosis for the Black population; diabetes among Coloured and Indian/Asian people, and ischaemic heart disease for the White population.
There are 16.3 million employed people; 6.7 million unemployed people (according to the official/strict definition); and 10.2 million unemployed people (according to the expanded definition — which includes people who have given up looking for work).
South Africa’s economy relies heavily on the tertiary sector, which contributes 68% to gross value added (GVA), compared to 21.1% for the secondary sector and 10.9% for the primary sector.
Salaries are the main source of income for more than two thirds (64.8%) of households and, for some 45.2% of households, grants are the main source of income.

2019