Income and Expenditure Survey, 1995

The new constitution (Act 108 of 1996) is founded on a set of values which embody non-racialism, non-sexism, respect for human dignity, equality, human rights and freedom for all. Explicit discrimination and denial of human rights, which formed the basis of the apartheid past, has been rejected by most South Africans. Despite these recent advances in democracy, socio-economic deprivation and profound contrasts in life circumstances along racial, urban-rural and gender divides, persist. Although South Africa is a middle-level income country, comparable with Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Poland, Thailand and Venezuela (World Bank/SALDRU, 1995), it is characterised by gross inequalities, partially the legacy of apartheid policies. (1) Income distribution in South Africa is extremely unequal, comparable to other countries which have very large gaps between rich and poor (World Bank/SALDRU, 1995). (2) Access to basic services, such as clean water and sanitation, is also highly unequal (Central Statistical Service, 1996). (3) South Africa fares particularly badly in international comparisons of social indicators, such as life expectancy, infant mortality and illiteracy (World Bank/SALDRU, 1995). The government was committed to improving the life circumstances and quality of life of all South Africans, particularly those who were previously disadvantaged. To meet this challenge, and to plan and implement change, a variety of role-payers – government, the private sector, trade unions and other institutions of civil society – required accurate information on a range of aspects of South African life. The Central Statistical Service (CSS), with its vast numbers of data collections, was the most appropriate agency to provide such data. There were numerous ways of collecting information on household income and expenditure. For example, people in selected households may be asked to keep receipts of all their purchases, or keep a diary of all expenditure over a specified time period. In addition to, or instead of these methods, a household survey can be conducted. Due to the relatively low level of literacy in South Africa, and the associated difficulty of record-keeping for many people, the Central Statistical Service chose the route of utilising households for its October 1995 Income and Expenditure Survey.Through the Income and Expenditure Survey, the Central Statistical Service determined the proportion of expenditure in an average household, or in sub-groups of various types of households, that went towards purchasing each of a variety of goods and services, such as food, housing, transport and recreation. On the basis of this information, weights for each item of expenditure, based on household averages, or on other classification variables, were calculated