Johannesburg – The average adult South African is poorer in 2016 than in 2015, according to research by Standard Bank.
Standard Bank released its 2016 income estimates on Wednesday. The research measures income changes across different income groups since 2011. The bulk (70%) of income comes from salaries and wages. The study is based on the adult population aged 15 and above. South Africa has an estimated adult population of 39.7 million.
It shows that income per person essentially declined 1.3% in 2016. This is down from an average of R76 578 to R75 541. Total personal income is estimated to be over R3trn, up from R2.8trn in 2015; this is a nominal growth of 6.5%. Taking into account inflation of 6.3% in 2016, real growth was only at 0.2%.
