Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions in South Africa

South Africa: Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions was 68.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
68.7%
Change on year
down 13.9%
World rank
5th
of 34 countries
All-time high
112.2%
in 2018
All-time low
40.6%
in 2005
Years of data
7
2005–2021

Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions in South Africa, 2005–2021

02550751002005201320212005: 40.62014: 59.42016: 462018: 112.22019: 70.92020: 79.72021: 68.7

Source: ASPIRE.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 68.7% for adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions in 2021.

The figure is down 13.9% on the previous year and up 15.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions in South Africa peaked at 112.2% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 40.6%, in 2005.

That places South Africa 5th out of 34 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.

Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions -urban in South Africa, 2005 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2005 40.6%
2014 59.4% +46.1%
2016 46.0% -22.5%
2018 112.2% +144.1%
2019 70.9% -36.9%
2020 79.7% +12.5%
2021 68.7% -13.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 40.6% 40.6% 40.6% 1
2010s 72.1% 46.0% 112.2% 4
2020s 74.2% 68.7% 79.7% 2

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 2 Thailand 111.5% compare
  2. 3 Romania 98.0% compare
  3. 4 Belarus 70.8% compare
  4. 6 Serbia 67.1% compare
  5. 7 Kazakhstan 64.5% compare
  6. 8 Republic of Moldova 63.0% compare

See the full ranking of 34 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions in South Africa?
Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions in South Africa was 68.7% in 2021, according to ASPIRE.
What is the highest adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 112.2% in 2018.
What is the lowest adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 40.6% in 2005.
How does South Africa rank for adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions?
South Africa ranks 5th out of 34 countries with data for 2021.
Is adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - contributory pensions rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from ASPIRE, published as part of Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions -urban. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on ASPIRE. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/adequacy-of-benefits-in-3rd-quintile-percent-contributory-pensions-urban/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/adequacy-of-benefits-in-3rd-quintile-percent-contributory-pensions-urban/south-africa/">Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Adequacy of benefits in 3rd quintile (%) - Contributory Pensions -urban
Source
ASPIRE
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
34 places, 347 data points, 2002–2023
Last refreshed

Total transfer amount received by all beneficiaries in a population group as a share of the total welfare of beneficiaries in that group