The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has released a comparative social and economic report of South Africa’s nine provinces.

The report was based on over 100 demographic, economic, education, healthcare, living conditions, governance and crime indicators for each province. The report found that two provinces, Gauteng and the Western Cape, dominate the South African economy. More than 50% of taxpayers, for example, were registered in these two provinces.

IRR analyst, and report author, Thuthukani Ndebele said: “The economic aspects of the report clearly indicate that Gauteng and the Western Cape essentially cross-subsidise the other seven provinces.”

According to Ndebele, “poorer and less developed provinces need to be given greater policymaking autonomy if they are ever to compete for investment and job creation with Gauteng and the Western Cape.

There is no way that they can compete as long as labour and taxation policies are the same across all provinces”.

Other findings of the report included that:

• The Eastern Cape has the worst formal housing statistics in the country.
• The Free State has the lowest life expectancy levels but the best numbers for households that cook with electricity.
• Gauteng had the best higher education levels of any province and the highest GDP per head but also featured the highest number of police murders.
• KwaZulu-Natal had the worst pre-school education numbers in the country but the lowest proportion of households using bucket toilets.
• Limpopo was far and away the safest province with a murder rate less than half the national average.
• Mpumalanga had the second lowest pupil-to-teacher ratio.
• North West had the worst GDP growth rate.
• The Northern Cape had the lowest maternal death figures and was tied with Limpopo for the lowest number of police murders.
• The Western Cape had the lowest HIV infection indicators and the lowest unemployment rate in the country.

To purchase a copy of the report click here or contact the IRR head of marketing Sherwin van Blerk on sherwin@irr.org.za