When President Jacob Zuma speaks to the nation on February 14th he will be speaking to a nation in which there are many poor people and in which inequality separates those who have and those who do not.

Afrobarometer studies attitudes towards the government by the governed. It also collects a range of poverty indicators. In this release, the Afrobarometer provides a description of the present levels of poverty in South Africa. It also notes that the poor are more politically active yet receive poorer services than those who are more wealthy.

Clearly their voice is either not being heard or is being drowned out by the more visible and resourceful urban elites which dominate political discourse in South Africa.

To find out more about South Africa's State of the Nation address please click here.

To read Afrobarometer's 'The Experience of Poverty in South Africa: A Summary of Afrobarometer Indicators, 2000-2011', download it above.