Tough economic conditions meant that 2022 was a rough year for people everywhere in the world. South Africa was no exception. But this year’s crop of problems came on top of a legacy of poor economic performance.
The country’s economic growth averaged 1% over the nine years to 2021, leaving the population poorer on average. The poverty rate has increased, reaching 63% in 2021, according to the latest World Bank estimates, back to where it was a decade earlier. Failure to improve living standards, the bank has warned, threatens social stability and will add pressure to public finances, which are already overstretched.
