Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private in South Africa

South Africa: Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private was 16.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
16.7%
Change on year
down 43.3%
World rank
21st
of 36 countries
All-time high
32.3%
in 2019
All-time low
11.2%
in 2018
Years of data
6
2005–2021

Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private in South Africa, 2005–2021

10152025302005201320212005: 16.52016: 19.72018: 11.22019: 32.32020: 29.52021: 16.7

Source: ASPIRE.

Analysis

In 2021, adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private in South Africa stood at 16.7%.

That represents a change of down 43.3% on the previous year and down 14.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private in South Africa peaked at 32.3% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2018.

South Africa ranks 21st of 36 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private Transfers -urban in South Africa, 2005 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2005 16.5%
2016 19.7% +19.0%
2018 11.2% -43.0%
2019 32.3% +188.2%
2020 29.5% -8.6%
2021 16.7% -43.3%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 16.7% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 18.5%, 90% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 16.5% 16.5% 16.5% 1
2010s 21.1% 11.2% 32.3% 3
2020s 23.1% 16.7% 29.5% 2

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 18 Brazil 17.9% compare
  2. 19 Paraguay 17.5% compare
  3. 20 Kazakhstan 17.4% compare
  4. 22 Côte d'Ivoire 16.7% compare
  5. 23 Malawi 16.4% compare
  6. 24 Costa Rica 16.1% compare

See the full ranking of 36 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private in South Africa?
Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private in South Africa was 16.7% in 2021, according to ASPIRE.
What is the highest adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 32.3% in 2019.
What is the lowest adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2018.
How does South Africa rank for adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private?
South Africa ranks 21st out of 36 countries with data for 2021.
Is adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - all private rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 14.9%. 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 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private Transfers -urban. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 6 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 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on ASPIRE. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/adequacy-of-benefits-in-5th-quintile-richest-percent-all-private-transfers-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-5th-quintile-richest-percent-all-private-transfers-urban/south-africa/">Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Adequacy of benefits in 5th quintile (richest) (%) - All Private Transfers -urban
Source
ASPIRE
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
36 places, 350 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