Twenty-year review of South African fiscal policy: A tale of two sustainabilities

Figures & data

Figure 1: Public debt (national government) (% of GDP)

Source: SARB Quarterly bulletin – National Revenue Fund data.

Figure 2: Conventional (overall), current and primary balances (national government, based on national government finance data) (% of GDP)

Source: SARB Quarterly bulletin – national government finance data.

Figure 3: Structural budget balance of general government in selected peer countries (% of potential GDP)

Source: Quantec/IMF World Economic Outlook (2014).

Figure 4: National and general government total expenditure and revenue adjusted for cash flows (fiscal years) (% of GDP)

Source: SARB Quarterly bulletin – Government Finance Statistics data.

Table 1: Summary values for receipts, operating payments and investment activity (% of GDP)

	National government		General government
	Cash receipts from operating activities	Cash payments for operating activities	Cash receipts from operating activities	Cash payments for operating activities
1994/95–98/99	23.6	27.5	30.4	31.7
1999/2000–03/04	24.2	25.5	31.8	30.9
2004/05–08/09	27.1	27.1	35.0	32.2
2009/10–12/13	25.4	30.2	34.1	35.4
	Investment activity	Total cash flows from operating and investment activities	Investment activity	Total cash flows from operating and investment activities
1994/95–98/99	0.5	28.0	2.3	34.1
1999/00–03/04	0.4	25.9	2.2	33.1
2004/05–08/09	0.4	27.5	2.9	35.0
2009/10–12/13	0.4	30.6	3.0	38.4

Source: SARB Quarterly bulletin – national government finance data.

Figure 5: General government expenditure in selected peer countries (% of GDP)

Source: Quantec/IMF World Economic Outlook (2014).

Figure 6: General government revenue in selected peer countries (% of GDP)

Source: Quantec/IMF World Economic Outlook (2014).

Table 2: Gini coefficients of per-capita income, aggregate and by race

Year	Aggregate	African	Coloured	Indian	White
1993	0.67	0.55	0.43	0.46	0.42
2000	0.67	0.61	0.53	0.50	0.47
2005	0.72	0.62	0.60	0.8	0.51
2008	0.70	0.62	0.54	0.61	0.50
% change, 1993–2008	4.50	12.70	25.60	32.60	19.10

Source: Finn et al. (2011:70).

Figure 7: South Africans living below the poverty line

Note: The poverty line has been set at R3864 per capita in 2000 prices. This is the official poverty line proposed by Murray Leibbrandt and Ingrid WoolardSource: Transformation Audit Blog (2012).

Figure 8: Functional classification of cash payments for operating activities and purchases of non-financial assets of consolidated general government (fiscal years), expressed as a ratio of total of such expenditure

Note: Total general public services includes public debt transactions (mainly interest)Source: StatsSA 2014.

Table 3: Number of grant recipients (thousands)

	2004/05	2007/08	2012/13	2013/14
Old age^a	2 096	2 221	2 851	2 931
Disability	1 308	1 413	1 179	1 180
Foster care	252	443	529	569
Care dependency	89	102	130	135
Child support	5 662	8 196	11 406	11 699
Total	9 407	12 375	16 095	16 514

Notes: ^aIncludes recipients of war veteran's grant.

Source: National Treasury (2009, 2014b).

Table 4: Monthly social grant amounts (rand)

	2004/05	2007/08	2012/13	2013/14
Old age grant	740	870	1 200	1 260
Old age grant, over 75s			1 220	1 280
War veterans grant	718	890	1 220	1 280
Disability grant	700	870	1 200	1 260
Foster care grant	500	620	770	800
Care dependency grant	700	870	1 200	1 260
Child support grant^a	160	200	280	290

Note: ^aValue will increase to R300 in October 2013.

Source: National Treasury (2008, 2014b).

Figure 9: Domestic (rand-denominated) bonds (excluding treasury bills) held by foreigners

Source: National Treasury (2014a).

Quantec/IMF World Economic Outlook, 2014. Online database. www.quantec.co.za.

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Finn, A, Leibbrandt, M & Wehner, E, 2011. Policies for reducing income inequality and poverty in South Africa. In Hofmeyer Jan (Eds.), Transformation audit 2011: From inequality to inclusive growth. Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, 72–81, Chapter 4. Available at www.transformationaudit.org. Accessed 12 February 2014.

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Transformation Audit Blog, 2012. Poverty and inequality at glance. Online. http://transformationaudit.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Poverty%20and%20Inequality%20at%20a%20Glance.pdf.

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StatsSA (Statistics South Africa), 2014. Financial statistics of consolidated general government. Statistics South Africa statistical release P9119.4, Pretoria.

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National Treasury, 2009. National budget review. National Treasury, Pretoria.

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National Treasury, 2014b. National budget review. National Treasury, Pretoria.

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National Treasury, 2008. National budget review. National Treasury, Pretoria.

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National Treasury, 2014a. Information and data provided on request. January 2014.

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