List of South African Provinces by Poverty Rate (2025)

This is a list of South African provinces by poverty rate as of 2025. The international poverty rate used by the World Bank is used in the following list.

The estimates can therefore vary from other estimates, like the national poverty rate.

Percentage of the population of South Africa living on less than $2.15, $3.65, and $6.85 a day, international dollars (2017 PPP) as per the World Bank.

Below is a table showing the percentage of the population living on less than poverty thresholds.

Province$2.15$3.65$6.85Estimate Year
South Africa20.5%40.0%61.6%2014
1Eastern Cape35.6%59.1%77.3%2014
2Limpopo34.3%56.9%77.1%2014
3KwaZulu-Natal28.1%52.4%73.1%2014
4North West23.2%46.9%70.9%2014
5Mpumalanga20.3%42.4%65.9%2014
6Northern Cape20.3%40.6%66.8%2014
7Free State16.3%36.2%62.5%2014
8Gauteng6.9%19.0%40.9%2014
9Western Cape6.8%21.3%43.8%2014