Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International in South Africa

South Africa: Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International was 8.7% in 2021. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2021)
8.7%
Change on year
up 77.3%
World rank
7th
of 27 countries
All-time high
39.5%
in 2018
All-time low
4.9%
in 2020
Years of data
5
2016–2021

Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International in South Africa, 2016–2021

0102030402016201820212016: 5.52018: 39.52019: 5.32020: 4.92021: 8.7

Source: ASPIRE.

Analysis

South Africa recorded 8.7% for benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - international in 2021.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 77.3% on the previous year and up 58.4% over ten years.

That places South Africa 7th out of 27 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.

Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International Private Transfers in South Africa, 2016 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2016 5.5%
2018 39.5% +616.4%
2019 5.3% -86.6%
2020 4.9% -6.8%
2021 8.7% +77.3%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 8.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.6%, 1.6× the median. (17 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 16.8% 5.3% 39.5% 3
2020s 6.8% 4.9% 8.7% 2

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 4 Kyrgyzstan 12.3% compare
  2. 5 Republic of Moldova 11.0%
  3. 6 Mexico 8.8% compare
  4. 8 Burkina Faso 8.5% compare
  5. 9 Mongolia 8.3% compare
  6. 10 Kosovo 8.0%
  7. 10 Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) 8.0%

See the full ranking of 27 places →

More work & labour data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - international in South Africa?
Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - international in South Africa was 8.7% in 2021, according to ASPIRE.
What is the highest benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - international recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 39.5% in 2018.
What is the lowest benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - international recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 4.9% in 2020.
How does South Africa rank for benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - international?
South Africa ranks 7th out of 27 countries with data for 2021.
Is benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - international rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 58.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from ASPIRE, published as part of Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International Private Transfers. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on ASPIRE. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/benefits-incidence-in-1st-quintile-poorest-percent-international-private-transfers/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://labour.statizoid.com/stat/benefits-incidence-in-1st-quintile-poorest-percent-international-private-transfers/south-africa/">Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Benefits incidence in 1st quintile (poorest) (%) - International Private Transfers
Source
ASPIRE
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
27 places, 266 data points, 2003–2022
Last refreshed

Percentage of benefits going to the 1st quintile (poorest) relative to the total benefits going to the population