South Africa: Gini coefficient, by area

According to the latest governmental data from 2019, the Gini coefficient in South Africa was 0.65 points in 2015, with lesser inequality in income within the rural areas of the most southern country of Africa. The Gini index gives information on the distribution of income in a country. In an ideal situation in which incomes are perfectly distributed, the coefficient is equal to zero, whereas one represents the highest inequality situation.

South Africa had the world's highest inequality in income distribution. Furthermore, the first eight countries on the ranking are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an index over 50 points.

Gini coefficient in South Africa from 2006 to 2015, by area

Characteristic	Urban	Rural
2015	0.61	0.55
2011	0.62	0.55
2009	0.62	0.51
2006	0.65	0.53

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Release date

October 2019

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Region

South Africa

Survey time period

2019

Supplementary notes

The source added the following note: ''The Gini coefficient has been a commonly used measure of inequality in South Africa. The Gini ranges from 0 to 1, where 0 indicates perfect equality (all individuals have the same income) and 1 indicates prefect inequality (where one person has all the income and the rest have none). Therefore, the closer the Gini coefficient gets to 1, the more unequal the population is. On the other hand, as the Gini coefficient approaches 0, the more equal the population becomes.''

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