Data from Statistics SA's fifth annual general household survey, conducted last July, were released on Tuesday. This survey is designed to measure various aspects of the living circumstances of South African households, focusing on education, health, work and unemployment, housing, and access to services and facilities.
The survey has been conducted annually since 2002 and the current report allows for preliminary identification of trends over five years up to 2006. But some caution is required in interpreting these trends, not only because of the relative shortness of the time frame, but because some differences reported over the five years may not be statistically significant.
In last year's survey, information was collected from more than 30 000 households across the country. A questionnaire containing 169 questions was completed through face-to-face interviews for each household.
In terms of education, the survey reported that there was an increase in the percentage of people aged between seven and 15 attending educational institutions, from 96.3 percent in 2002 to 97.7 percent last year. There was a decline in the percentage of people aged 20 years and above with no formal education, from 12.1 percent to 10.7 percent. This is mirrored by a rise in the percentage of those aged 20 years and above with matric or grade 12, which rose from 21.1 percent to 23 percent.
An interesting health indicator involves coverage by medical aid funds, with a decline in the percentage of persons covered from 15.2 percent to 13.7 percent. The number of people covered fell from 6.923 million to 6.506 million.
One major objective of the household survey is to collect information about the type of dwellings, and the distribution of services such as water, sanitation and refuse removal.
The study shows large provincial differences in the percentages of households living in informal dwellings. The percentage rose from 12.7 percent in 2002 to 14.5 percent last year. Provinces such as Limpopo and the Eastern Cape have proportionally fewer households living in informal dwellings than others such as the Western Cape and Gauteng. The percentage is on the increase in the Free State, the Northern Cape, the North West and Gauteng.
Nationally, there was a steady increase in the percentage of households that receive government housing subsidies from 5.6 percent in 2002 to 9.5 percent last year. A larger percentage of female-headed households (11.6 percent) received such subsidies than male-headed households (8.3 percent).
The percentage of households that were connected to mains electricity rose from 76.1 percent to 80.2 percent. A similar trend is seen in the percentage of households whose main source of water was from a tap, either in the dwelling or on site. This has increased steadily from 66.1 percent to 71.3 percent.
The percentage of households that relied on bucket toilets or had no toilet facility declined from 13.2 percent in 2002 to 8.6 percent last year. The percentage fell notably in Limpopo, from 19.6 percent to 7.7 percent. In Gauteng the proportion is only 0.7 percent, even though the percentage of the population living in informal dwellings increased from 18.7 percent in 2002 to 23.9 percent last year.
The adequacy of food supply is an important indicator of wellbeing. Data from the survey are only broadly indicative of the extent to which household members experience hunger, since it is based solely on self-perceptions. Respondents were asked whether anyone over the age of 18 had gone hungry because there was not enough food, and a similar question was asked of persons younger than 18.
Last year there were about 13 million households in the country, but children were present in only 7.8 million. In 84 percent of these households, no child ever went hungry last year, up from 68.8 percent in 2002.
This survey is just one of many that are watched by those measuring and monitoring development and progress. Both consumer and production inflation are being carefully watched, with yesterday's consumer price data and today's producer price results bound to be analysed in depth by policy makers, legislators and economists. The results of the February community survey, which reached out to about 280 000 households, are due for release later this year. They will enhance and deepen the information gathered in the general household survey, and apply it to municipal level.
The household survey indicates that progress was made in a number of key respects between 2002 and last year. Attendance rates at educational institutions have increased. There has been a steady rise in the percentage of households that receive government housing subsidies. There was robust growth in the percentage of households connected to mains electricity and a marked decline in the percentage of households that use bucket toilets or have no toilet facilities.
These outcomes indicate an improvement in living circumstances, coupled with a declining percentage of adults and children reporting that they go hungry.