South Africa
From Wikiprogress.org
| South_Africa | |
 Flag of South_Africa | |
| Population (In Millions) | 50.59 |
| Human Development Index | 123/169 |
| Gross Domestic Product (In USD Billions - World Bank) | 408.24 |
| Global Peace Index | 118/153 |
| Happy Planet Index | 118/143 |
| Social Institutions and Gender Index | 4/86 |
| Environmental Performance Index | 115/163 |
| Child Mortality Rate | 34.6 |
| More information on variables | |
Geography
Quality of Life
Multidimensional Poverty Index
The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for South Africa is 0.057. The MPI is an international measure of acute poverty covering 109 countries. The MPI reflects the multiple deprivations that poor people face at the same time in three dimensions: health, education and living standards. The MPI reflects both the incidence or headcount ratio (H) of poverty – the proportion of the population that is multidimensionally poor – and the average intensity (A) of their poverty – the average proportion of indicators in which poor people are deprived. More information on the MPI in South Africa is available here.
UNDP Human Development Report Trends - 2011
The Human Development Index represents a push for a broader definition of well-being and provides a composite measure of three basic dimensions of human development: health, education and income.According to the [United Nations Development Programme]]'s 2011 Human Development Reports, South Africa's HDI is 0.619, which gives the country a rank of 123 out of 187 countries with comparable data. The HDI of Sub-Saharan Africa as a region increased from 0.365 in 1980 to 0.463 today, placing South Africa above the regional average[1]
Between 1980 and 2011, South Africa’s HDI value increased from 0.564 to 0.619, an increase of 10.0 per cent or average annual increase of about 0.3 percent[2]
South Africa's HDI breaks down as follow:
- Health: 0.517 (life expectancy at birth, 52.7 years)
- Education: 0.705 (mean years of schooling, at 8.5)
- Income: 0.652 (GNI per capita-2005 PPP$- 9,469)
Jobs and Earnings
Sustainability
National Framework for Sustainable Development
South Africa's National Framework for Sustainable Development was published in 2008 and sets out 37 targets for the achievement of sustainable development, inclusive of the Millennium Development Goals. The Framework provides the basis for a long-term process of integrating sustainability as a key component of the development discourse and shows South Africa’s commitment to the principles developed at international summits and conferences in the economic, social and environmental fields, including the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. The inclusive and participatory approach permit relevant actors - social workers, civil society, experts, NGOSs and governments - to refine the framework by taking into account three principles guiding this vision:
- Efficient and sustainable use of natural resources
- Socio-economic systems embedded within, and dependant upon, eco-systems
- Basic human needs met to ensure resources necessary for long-term survival are not destroyed for short term gains.
Environment and Sustainable Development Indicators
South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism developed a set of national indicators for the State of the Environment in South Africa. This initiative is in line with the international approach to implementing Agenda 21 through monitoring and reporting on sustainable development. This national indicator initiative relies on the gathering of information at national, provincial and local levels.
The subdivisions of this set of indicators are:
- Human Settlement Indicators
- Land Use Indicators
- Atmosphere and Climate Indicators
- Inland Water Indicators
- Biodiversity and Natural Heritage Indicators
- Waste Management Indicators
Multidimensional Poverty Index
Civic Engagement and Governance
Initiatives/ NGOs
The African_Monitor, was established in Cape Town, South_Africa, in 2008 and developed as a catalyst among faith communities, wider civil society, NGOs, governments, international agencies, think tanks, academia, and the private sector on a national and international level and ensures the urgent and effective delivery of development commitments.
The African Gender Institute (AGI) was established in 1996 by the University of Cape Town, South Africa. AGI work focuses on questions of access and women's leadership development and is concerned with integrated strategy development for transformative policy research and intervention, as well as supporting the production of indigenous knowledge which enhances understanding of gender equity issues in African contexts.
Official Statistics
Development Progress Story: South Africa’s social security system - Expanding coverage of grants and limiting increases in inequality
Progress in South Africa’s social security system has been highlighted as a part the Overseas Development Institute's Development Progress Stories, an initiative looking at what is working in development and why. Key messages from the research include:
- Provision of social grants has limited the growth of inequality and poverty among the poor in South Africa.
- Coverage of social grants has increased significantly in the country, from just over 2 million beneficiaries in 1996/97 to almost 14 million in 2009/10.
- The most important factors contributing to progress in increasing coverage are strong stable leadership, changes made to the Constitution and the building of new institutions. Social grants are affordable given budgetary prioritisation and the size of the tax base coupled with an efficient tax-gathering system.
Full report and summary case study can be viewed and downloaded here
Happiness in South Africa
This is an overview of findings on Happiness in South Africa.The available findings are presented in the latest ‘Nation Report’ on South Africa [1]. This report is ordered by type of happiness questions and within these types by year. This ordering is to facilitate the assessment of progress, comparison over time being most fruitful using the same questions.
The report presents means and standard deviations, both on the original scale range and transformed to a common range 0-10. The means inform about the level of happiness in the country and the standard deviations about inequality of happiness.
Links provide more detail about the precise text of the question, the full distribution of responses and technical details of the survey. The report is continuously updated.\
Child Well-being in South Africa
Children Count - Abantwana Babalulekile is a project aimed at monitoring the situation of children in South Africa. They offer child-centered statistics to a wide range of audiences. The data is available online.The South African Child Gauge 2009/2010 tracks South Africa's progress towards realising children's rights.
The African Report on Child Well-being 2008: How child-friendly are African governments? reviews and compares the performance of 52 African governments. They developed a Child-friendliness Index for that assessment. The report was produced by The African Child Policy Forum in November 2008.
The Childline is an interesting project of the use of ever increasing ownership of mobile phones. (Number: 0800 055 555)
Progress papers and publications
- National Framework for Sustainable Development 2008, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, South Africa.
- South African Development Index (SADI): Report for first quarter 2011, The South-African Institute for Race Relations and Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Review 8 no. 3 September 2010, Human Sciences Research Council of South-Africa
References
- ↑ United Nations Development Programme. 2011 Human Development Reports. South Africa.http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/ZAF.html
- ↑ Human Development Report 2011.Sustainability and Equity:A Better Future for All. South Africa.http://hdrstats.undp.org/images/explanations/ZAF.pdf
See also
External Links
