[South Africa] poor doubles

from Finance 24

Inequality within the African population was greater than that in any other population group, the South African Institute of Race Relations said in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Research published in the Institute's annual South Africa Survey, released this week, found that levels of inequality, measured by the gini coefficient, had increased for all race groups except whites since 1996.

Increases were most dramatic for the African population which saw levels of inequality rise by 21% to 0.64 on the gini coefficient since 1996.

Inequality within the coloured community increased by 17% to 0.56, the Indian population recorded a 6% increase in inequality to 0.50 while the white community saw its levels of inequality decline by 2% to 0.44.

A score of 0 would indicate complete equality and 1 would indicate complete inequality.

"While growing inequality is in part an indication of the growth of the black middle class, and therefore a positive indicator, it is of concern that such growth has been accompanied by an increase in poverty among the lowest income groups," said Jane Tempest, the head of research at the Institute.

Figures published in the South Africa Survey showed that the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day, the measure of absolute poverty, had more than doubled since 1994.

Using a different measure of poverty 50% of South African households lived on less than R2 899 a month for a household of eight in 2004, up from 40% in 1994.

A demographics researcher at the Institute, Marco MacFarlane, said that the figures indicated that while progress was being made in the upper and middle classes of South Africa's society the poor where being left behind.

MacFarlane added that this was a potentially destabilising factor for South Africa as had already been seen in the spate of local government delivery protests over the past 18 months.