South Africa’s social grants network has expanded extremely quickly over the past 30 years.

In 1994, approximately 2.5 million social grants were paid. That number rose steadily through South Africa’s first democratic decade, to reach just over 10 million by 2004. Approximately 7 million grants were added over the next decade to take the number to around 17 million in 2014. That number rose by around a further 10 million grants over the next decade, particularly via the Covid-19 support grant, to reach the current number of nearly 28 million.

By comparison, there are approximately 17 million people in employment in both the formal and informal sectors. What this means is that there is around one grant paid every month for every 2 people in the country, but only one salary paid monthly for every 3 people.

Grants have had a substantive impact on consumer spending in South Africa and on raising the basic living conditions of the country’s poorest people. The extent of South Africa’s welfare system now stands as perhaps the most effective wealth redistribution system of any emerging market.