There has been a small drop in the proportion of South African children living in poverty over the past decade.

This is according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), which published data on child poverty this week.

The organisation examined child poverty between 2015 and 2023 by looking at which children were “multidimensionally poor”.

Multidimensional poverty is a lack of nutritious food, clean water and sanitation, quality education, healthcare, housing, and safety. Children were considered living in multidimensional poverty if they experienced deprivation in three or more of what Stats SA calls the “dimensions”.

According to Stats SA, multidimensional child poverty declined from 60.8% in 2015 to 57.3% in 2023.

In 2023 the province with the highest number of children (defined as people aged 17 and younger) living in multidimensional poverty was the Eastern Cape, where 75.8% of children were living in multidimensional poverty, a decline from the 76.3% that were living in multidimensional poverty in the province in 2015.

The proportion of children who lived in multidimensional poverty in other provinces in 2023 was as follows (the proportion that were living in multidimensional poverty in 2015 in the province is noted in brackets):

• •73.7% in Limpopo (82.4%);
• •71.9% in KwaZulu-Natal (74.2%);
• •59.7% in North West (63.4%);
• •57.6% in Mpumalanga (67.9%);
• •54.5% in the Northern Cape (54.1%);
• •48.2% in the Free State (53.4%);
• •36.8% in the Western Cape (37.6%); and
• •35.9% in Gauteng (34.9%).

Children were less likely to be living in multidimensional poverty if they lived in one of the eight metros – in 2023, some 39.8% of children in metros lived in multidimensional poverty, down from the 40.0% recorded in 2015. In 2023, the proportion of children outside metros living in multidimensional poverty was 67.4%, a decline from the 72.3% measured in 2015.

There were also significant differences by race. The proportion of black children living in multidimensional poverty in South Africa in 2023 was 62.4% (down from 66.9% in 2015). They were followed by coloured children – in 2023 some 38.1% of coloured children lived in multidimensional poverty, down from 39.6% in 2015. For Indian/Asian children, 12.9% lived in multidimensional poverty in 2023, down from 16.7% in 2015. Finally, in 2023 some 9.0% of white children lived in multidimensional poverty, down from 10.7% in 2015.

Marius Roodt, deputy editor of The Common Sense, said, “While the decline in child poverty is of course to be welcomed, it is still far too high. Children who grow up in multidimensional poverty are often hobbled for life, because the nutrition and education you get when you are young has an impact on your life chances for decades.”

“It is not an exaggeration to say that along with unemployment, poverty, particularly child poverty, is South Africa’s most pressing issue. The unity government needs to have a laser-like focus on these issues. If they do not, South Africa has no hope of ever becoming a prosperous and successful country,” Roodt said.