Among major economies, South Africa stands out for the high proportion of households that are at risk of low incomes and the low extent to which taxes and transfers reduce this proportion. While the most recent available estimates for most countries is 2021, for South Africa the latest estimates are for 2017. The estimates suggests that despite relatively progressive fiscal policy in South Africa, the incidence of policy may not be strongest on the poorest in society. One would expect that the social relief of distress grants implemented since the COVID pandemic likely helped to reduce poverty, but there is some debate about the efficacy of the policy.
