Statistics South Africa has released its Living Conditions of Households in South Africa survey, detailing the average annual income of South Africans.

The LCS has two primary objectives, firstly to provide statistical information on household consumption expenditure patterns to inform the updating of the consumer price index (CPI), and secondly to report on poverty levels and patterns.

The information presented was collected from 23,380 households across the country over a period of 12 months (2014/2015). The total figures are therefore an estimate based on the data provided.

According to the LCS report, the average income in South Africa is approximately R138,168 per annum, with the biggest portion derived primarily from work. Other income sources include capital gains, pensions and allowances, and rent.

The data shows that white South Africans still command the highest average incomes in the country at approximately R444,446 a year. This is over 1.5 times greater than Indians/Asians at R271,621 per year, and almost 5 times more than black South Africans, at R92,893 per year.

The data is broken down in the tables below.

Source White Indian/Asian Coloured Black South Africa Salary R300 498 R215 784 R131 633 R69 094 R100 246 Capital gains R16 184 R2 173 R1 364 R842 R2 451 Pensions, social insurance, family allowances R30 739 R10 028 R12 260 R8 921 R11 378 Income from individuals R5 232 R3 309 R2 430 R2 194 R2 542 Other R6 520 R2 323 R2 265 R1 261 R1 886 Imputed rent on owned dwelling R85 271 R38 005 R22 747 R10 671 R19 665 Total R444 446 R271 621 R172 765 R92 983 R138 168

Difference table

White Indian/Asian Coloured Black South Africa White – 1.64 2.57 4.78 3.22 Indian/Asian 0.61 – 1.57 2.92 1.96 Coloured 0.39 0.64 – 1.86 1.25 Black 0.21 0.34 0.54 – 0.67

Black South Africans account for just over 80% of the country’s current population while white South Africans make up a little over 8%.

Despite the large wage inequality, Stats SA’s data showed that the gap has narrowed since the previous LCS report in 2011, which found that the average white South African earned six times as much as the average black South African.

Read: The average house price in South Africa in 2017