Informal care employment in South Africa

South Africa: Informal care employment was 1,631 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1,631
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
6th
of 43 countries
All-time high
1,758
in 2018
All-time low
306.43
in 2002
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Informal care employment in South Africa, 2000–2024

5001.0k1.5k2.0k2000201220242000: 791.52001: 4082002: 306.42003: 343.82004: 363.22005: 411.52006: 407.62007: 4152008: 1.4k2009: 1.4k2010: 1.4k2011: 1.3k2012: 1.3k2013: 1.4k2014: 1.5k2015: 1.6k2016: 1.7k2017: 1.7k2018: 1.8k2019: 1.7k2020: 1.4k2021: 1.5k2022: 1.6k2023: 1.6k2024: 1.6k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

The most recent figure for informal care employment in South Africa is 1,631, measured in 2024.

The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 7.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal care employment in South Africa peaked at 1,758 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 306.43, in 2002.

South Africa ranks 6th of 43 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Informal care employment in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Informal care employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in South Africa, 2000 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2000 791.47
2001 408.03 -48.4%
2002 306.43 -24.9%
2003 343.84 +12.2%
2004 363.23 +5.6%
2005 411.53 +13.3%
2006 407.61 -1.0%
2007 415.02 +1.8%
2008 1,365 +228.9%
2009 1,367 +0.2%
2010 1,353 -1.0%
2011 1,309 -3.3%
2012 1,327 +1.4%
2013 1,422 +7.2%
2014 1,523 +7.1%
2015 1,621 +6.4%
2016 1,654 +2.0%
2017 1,678 +1.5%
2018 1,758 +4.7%
2019 1,706 -3.0%
2020 1,410 -17.3%
2021 1,487 +5.4%
2022 1,579 +6.2%
2023 1,620 +2.5%
2024 1,631 +0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 617.91 306.43 1,367 10
2010s 1,535 1,309 1,758 10
2020s 1,545 1,410 1,631 5

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 3 Pakistan 3,520 compare
  2. 4 Mexico 3,343 compare
  3. 5 Bangladesh 2,414 compare
  4. 7 Thailand 1,406 compare
  5. 8 Argentina 1,184 compare
  6. 9 Angola 1,094 compare

See the full ranking of 43 places →

More work & labour data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal care employment in South Africa?
Informal care employment in South Africa was 1,631 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest informal care employment recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1,758 in 2018.
What is the lowest informal care employment recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 306.43 in 2002.
How does South Africa rank for informal care employment?
South Africa ranks 6th out of 43 countries with data for 2024.
Is informal care employment rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Informal care employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Informal care employment in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-care-employment-previous-ilo-definition-icls13/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Informal care employment (previous ILO definition - ICLS13)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
43 places, 492 data points, 1999–2026
Last refreshed

With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This harmonized series for informal employment is derived using the same set of criteria across countries to improve comparability. The criteria used are based on employment status, institutional sector, destination of production, bookkeeping, registration, social security contribution, places of work and size. For more information, refer to the Worker and Sector Profiles (PROF) database description.