The numbers. You decide.
No spin. No excuses. No politics. Just official statistics explained in plain English — like your smartest friend at a braai.
Everyone has an opinion about South Africa. Fewer people have the numbers.
We don't tell you who to vote for. We don't endorse anyone. Every figure links to its official source, so you can check it yourself and reach your own conclusions.
💼 Jobs
The number
0.0%
What it means
About 1 in every 3 South Africans who want work cannot find it.
The Braai Test
Invite 10 friends who want jobs to a braai. Three of them are still job-hunting. Seven have work. That's today's reality.
Trend
The number
0.0%
What it means
Roughly 6 in 10 young people looking for work can't find any.
The Braai Test
If SA's youth were a soccer team of 11, about 7 would be sitting on the bench looking for work.
Trend
On the bright side
More South Africans have jobs than ever before
Around 17 million people are employed today — up from about 8 million in 1994. Nowhere near enough, but millions of new jobs is real progress nobody talks about.
Source: Stats SA – Quarterly Labour Force Survey (P0211)The hustle economy is huge
Millions of South Africans earn a living in their own small businesses, spaza shops and street trading. The informal sector is one of the country's biggest job creators.
Source: Stats SA – Quarterly Labour Force Survey (P0211)🚨 Crime & Safety
The number
0
What it means
Around 27,600 murders are recorded each year. Most start as arguments that spiralled out of control — and many involve illegal guns that could be traced and removed.
The Braai Test
The encouraging part: SA cut this number nearly in half between 1994 and 2011. It's proof the trend can turn — and it can turn again.
Trend
The number
0 per 100k
What it means
South Africa's murder rate is well above the global average of about 5 per 100,000 — but it fell dramatically in the 2000s, showing improvement is possible.
The Braai Test
If SA matched the global average, tens of thousands more people would come home safe every year. Countries have done it before.
Trend
The number
0
What it means
Nearly half of all murders involve a firearm — and police say most of those guns are illegal. That makes illegal guns one of the clearest levers for bringing violence down.
The Braai Test
SAPS's own math: one illegal gun taken off the street can prevent up to seven murders and four attempted murders.
Trend
The number
0
What it means
Around 63 cars are hijacked every day — that's one every 23 minutes.
The Braai Test
In the time it takes to braai a round of chops, about two cars have been hijacked somewhere in SA.
The number
0
What it means
About 110 break-ins happen while families are at home each day. It's the crime South Africans fear most — and one where alarms, cameras and neighbourhood watches genuinely make a difference.
The Braai Test
It's why electric fences, panic buttons and neighbourhood watches have become part of daily life here — and why bringing this number down would change how the whole country feels at night.
The number
0
What it means
About 146 sexual offences are reported daily — and experts believe many more are never reported, which is why support services and safe reporting matter so much.
The Braai Test
The stats only show what's reported. Better support for survivors and faster cases through the courts are where change starts.
The number
0
What it means
Kidnapping has risen sharply — roughly 47 cases a day, many linked to ransom demands. Dedicated police units are now being built up to fight it.
The Braai Test
A decade ago this was a rare crime. Today it happens about once every half hour — which is exactly why it's now a national policing priority.
The number
0%
What it means
Only about a third of households feel safe walking alone in their own area after dark — down from over 40% a decade ago.
The Braai Test
Two out of three of your neighbours wouldn't walk to the corner shop at night. Safer streets start with visible policing and working streetlights — fixable things.
On the bright side
Murders were halved between 1994 and 2011
From about 27,000 a year at the dawn of democracy to around 16,000 by 2011. It proved SA can turn the tide — and it can again.
Source: SAPS – Annual Crime StatisticsIllegal guns are being taken off the streets
In a single quarter, police arrested nearly 2,000 people for illegal firearm possession — and destroyed over 16,000 seized guns in one day. Fewer illegal guns on the street means fewer shootings.
Source: SAPS – Quarterly Crime Statistics / firearm destructionsMost households experienced no crime last year
In the Victims of Crime Survey, the large majority of South African households say they experienced no housebreaking, robbery or theft in the past 12 months.
Source: Stats SA – Victims of Crime Survey (P0341)⚡ Electricity
The number
0%
What it means
9 in 10 homes are now connected — up from just over half in the 90s.
The Braai Test
In a street of 10 homes, 9 have the lights wired in. Whether they're ON is a different story…
The number
0 days
What it means
In 2023, the power was scheduled off on almost every day of the year.
The Braai Test
Imagine paying for Netflix and the movie pauses for hours nearly every day. That was 2023.
On the bright side
The lights stayed on through 2024
After 2023's record year of cuts, Eskom suspended load shedding for most of 2024 and 2025. The turnaround surprised everyone — including the cynics.
Source: Eskom – Power statisticsA rooftop solar boom
Households and businesses have installed thousands of megawatts of private solar — one of the fastest rollouts in the world. South Africans stopped waiting and started generating.
Source: Eskom / CSIR – Energy studies📚 Education
The number
0.0%
What it means
Of learners who write matric, nearly 9 in 10 pass.
The Braai Test
But note: many learners drop out before Grade 12, so they're never counted in this number.
The number
0%
What it means
8 in 10 Grade 4 learners can't understand what they read.
The Braai Test
Picture a classroom of 30 nine-year-olds. Only about 6 can read a short story and tell you what happened.
On the bright side
Record numbers pass matric — and qualify for university
Over 200,000 learners now earn bachelor-level passes each year, the ticket to university. That's the highest in SA history.
Source: Department of Basic Education – NSC ResultsNearly every child is in school
Primary school enrolment is close to universal. In the 1990s millions of children were still locked out of the classroom — that door is now open.
Source: Stats SA – General Household Survey (P0318)📈 Economy
The number
0.0%
What it means
The economy grew by less than 1% — slower than the population.
The Braai Test
The braai pie got 0.6% bigger, but more people showed up to eat. Everyone's slice shrank a little.
The number
0%
What it means
Government owes about three-quarters of what the whole country produces in a year.
The Braai Test
Like earning R100 000 a year with R76 000 on the credit card — and the interest keeps growing.
The number
0c
What it means
22 cents of every rand collected in tax goes straight to interest on old debt — more than the entire police budget. Countries that keep debt low spend that money on schools, police and clinics instead.
The Braai Test
Like earning R10,000 and handing R2,200 to the bank before buying a single loaf of bread. That interest buys nothing new — it's the bill for money already spent.
The number
0bn+
What it means
Eskom, Transnet, SAA and others have absorbed over R450 billion in government support — money that couldn't go to classrooms or clinics. Well-run state companies abroad, like Norway's Equinor, pay dividends into the budget instead of draining it.
The Braai Test
Like a family repeatedly rescuing a failing family business — while the neighbours' state companies earn money that funds their schools.
The number
0%
What it means
About 7 in every 10 rand of personal income tax comes from just the top 10% of earners — a very small base carrying the country. When that base shrinks or leaves, everyone feels it.
The Braai Test
It's like one table at the braai paying for almost the whole party. You want more tables earning well — not fewer people carrying everything.
On the bright side
Inflation has stayed under control
For most of the past two decades the Reserve Bank has kept inflation inside its 3–6% target. Compared with many countries, your rand keeps its value.
Source: South African Reserve Bank – Monetary PolicySA exports the world's platinum — plus cars, fruit and wine
The country produces around 70% of the world's platinum, and record harvests of citrus, wine and maize ship out every year. The factories and farms still work.
Source: Minerals Council South Africa / Agbiz🛒 Affordability
The number
0 yrs
What it means
Fifteen years ago the typical first-time buyer was about 32. Today they're closer to 38 — young adults are locked out of owning a home for nearly an extra decade.
The Braai Test
In 2010 a 25-year-old with a decent job could realistically plan to buy a place by 30. Today that same plan pushes towards 40 — deposits, interest rates and prices all moved faster than salaries.
The number
0.0 yrs
What it means
An average home now costs roughly 8 years of the average salary — up from about 4.5 years in 2010. In many countries the ratio sits closer to 4 or 5.
The Braai Test
Your parents' generation saved a deposit in a few years. Today's 25-year-old needs nearly double the income, in real terms, for the same starter home.
The number
0.0 yrs
What it means
The price-to-income ratio compares the average home price to the average salary in each country — same measure everywhere. South Africa sits around 4, better than the USA (~5), the UK (~8) and Australia (~9). Homes are expensive for South Africans mainly because local salaries are low, not because houses are unusually pricey.
The Braai Test
Same rule for everyone: divide the house price by the salary. On that scoreboard SA actually beats London and Sydney — the problem is our payslips, not just our house prices.
The number
0R/l
What it means
Same product, same measure: one litre of 95 unleaded, converted to rand. South Africa (~R23) is cheaper than the UK (~R33) and most of Europe, but pricier than the USA (~R18) — and about a third of the SA price is taxes and levies like the fuel levy and Road Accident Fund.
The Braai Test
Filling a 50-litre tank costs about R1,150 here, R1,650 in London and R900 in Texas. And roughly R400 of your tank is tax.
The number
0%
What it means
A basic household food basket costs roughly R5,300 a month — more than half of a full-time national minimum wage (~R4,800 take-home). In most developed countries the same comparison comes in under 15%. The measure is identical: cost of a basic basket divided by the legal minimum monthly pay.
The Braai Test
Earn minimum wage and food alone eats more than half your pay — before rent, transport or school shoes. In London the same basket test takes about a tenth.
Trend
The number
0R
What it means
The Economist's Big Mac Index compares the exact same burger in every country. In SA it's about R60, vs roughly R105 in the USA and R95 in the UK — the cheapest way to see that a rand stretches further at home than abroad.
The Braai Test
One burger, same recipe, worldwide. Ours costs nearly half the American price — proof your rand buys more here than it does converted to dollars overseas.
On the bright side
Housing is cheaper relative to income than in most rich countries
On the price-to-income scoreboard, SA homes cost about 4 years of average salary — versus 8 in the UK and 9 in Australia. First-time buyers here also get government support through the FLISP subsidy.
Source: Numbeo / NHFC – FLISP subsidyEveryday prices go further at home
From Big Macs to restaurant meals, the same goods cost far less in SA than in the US or Europe — which is why the rand is considered one of the world's most undervalued currencies.
Source: The Economist – Big Mac Index🍞 Poverty
The number
0m
What it means
About 19 million people get a monthly grant — not counting the R370 SRD grant.
The Braai Test
In a room of 10 South Africans, roughly 3 rely on a government grant each month.
On the bright side
The grant system keeps millions above the breadline
The World Bank calls SA's social grants one of the most effective safety nets in the developing world — it has kept millions out of extreme hunger.
Source: World Bank – South Africa overviewFar more people live in proper homes
About 8 in 10 households live in formal dwellings today, up from around 6 in 10 in the 1990s. Millions of RDP houses have been handed over since 1994.
Source: Stats SA – General Household Survey (P0318)🚰 Municipal Services
The number
0%
What it means
About 4 in every 10 litres are lost to leaks, theft or bad billing.
The Braai Test
Buying 10 bottles of water for the braai and pouring 4 into the sand before anyone drinks.
On the bright side
About 9 in 10 homes have access to water
At the tap or close to it — access to water infrastructure is around 90% of households, up dramatically from 1994.
Source: Stats SA – General Household Survey (P0318)Sanitation transformed since 1994
Households with a flush toilet have climbed from roughly half in the 90s to about 7 in 10 today. One of the quietest big wins of the last 30 years.
Source: Stats SA – General Household Survey (P0318)🏛️ Compare governments
Objective metrics only. Pick a measure and see how it looked under each administration.
No scores. No opinions. Global events (2008 crash, COVID-19) shaped every term — the data is here so you can judge for yourself.
⏳ Then vs now
1994
2026
🏠 Could you run your house like this?
Answer, then see the real number.
Would you accept losing 40% of your household water every month?
Would you keep paying for internet that disconnected every day?
Would you spend R1.20 for every R1 you earn, year after year?
🗳️ Your vote matters
Whoever you choose, choosing is the point. Check your registration and make a plan for 4 November.
2024 national election
11.5m
registered voters stayed home.
Put another way: at a braai of 10 registered voters, 4 didn't vote. Millions more eligible adults never registered at all. Elections are often decided by fewer votes than the number of people who stayed home.
Registered voters (millions)
Source: Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)