Share of women among low pay earners in South Africa
South Africa: Share of women among low pay earners was 49.5% in 2015. ▲ Rising
Share of women among low pay earners in South Africa, 2000–2015
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 49.5% for share of women among low pay earners in 2015.
That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and up 32.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women among low pay earners in South Africa peaked at 50.7% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 34.6%, in 2002.
That places South Africa 34th out of 70 countries with data for 2015, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Share of women among low pay earners in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 41.1% | — |
| 2001 | 35.2% | -14.4% |
| 2002 | 34.6% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 34.6% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 36.7% | +5.9% |
| 2005 | 37.5% | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 37.6% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 38.3% | +2.1% |
| 2010 | 49.7% | +29.8% |
| 2011 | 49.3% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 50.4% | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 50.2% | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 50.7% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 49.5% | -2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 37.0% | 34.6% | 41.1% | 8 |
| 2010s | 50.0% | 49.3% | 50.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More gender data for South Africa
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 17,151 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth 0.6591 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 570,099 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 589,533 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 570,599 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 589,626 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 569,634 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, male, interpolated 588,323 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, female, interpolated 594,743 (2025)
- Age population, age 03, male, interpolated 603,304 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women among low pay earners in South Africa?
- Share of women among low pay earners in South Africa was 49.5% in 2015, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of women among low pay earners recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 50.7% in 2014.
- What is the lowest share of women among low pay earners recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.6% in 2002.
- How does South Africa rank for share of women among low pay earners?
- South Africa ranks 34th out of 70 countries with data for 2015.
- Is share of women among low pay earners rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of women among low pay earners. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of low pay workers, among all low pay workers, who are female.