W Cape, Gauteng lead in basic needs
QUALITY OF LIFE SURVEY: LIMPOPO COMES IN THIRD
Almost all adults between 16 and 84 are literate, compared to 82% in the mid-1990s.
Gauteng and the Western Cape are the only provinces with an above-average capacity to cater for residents’ social and environmental needs.
These are the findings of the first Social Progress Index in Africa by IQbusiness and international non-profit Social Progress Imperative. The index measures performance on three dimensions: basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity. It uses 12 components to measure if people feel safe, if they drink water without falling ill, if their rights are protected, if they are free to make decisions, and if they have access to foundational education and housing with basic utilities.
The index aims to move away from using just gross domestic product or unemployment figures as a measure of economic progress, choosing instead to look at the quality of life of citizens and how wealth is distributed.
“Stimulating GDP growth and reducing unemployment is scarcely satisfying if the lived experience of all people in South Africa is not enhanced as a result of such growth,” according to statistician-general Risenga Maluleke.
Gauteng was ranked at number one, with a score of 68.01. The province scored highly on eight of the 12 components, with access to water and sanitation, inclusiveness and basic education at the top.
The Western Cape was at 66.7, mainly due to environmental quality, access to basic knowledge and nutritional and basic medical care. Limpopo was next with a rating of 48.18. Limpopo achieved the highest score for shelter, personal safety and personal rights. But it was worst on access to information and communications.
Only about 4% of schools in Mpumalanga and Limpopo have access to the internet, while only 43.6% of households in Limpopo contain at least one person who has access to the internet.
Limpopo and the Eastern Cape had the lowest scores for access to basic education.
Gauteng (7.51%) and the Western Cape (5.04%) have the lowest percentage of 18 to 29-year-olds still in school, “suggesting these provinces are more efficient at graduating pupils through the basic education system”. In comparison, 24% of the 18 to 29-year-old population in Limpopo is still in school.
Almost all adults between the ages of 16 and 84 are literate, compared with 82% in the mid-1990s.