"South Africa suffers among the highest levels of inequality in the world when measured by the commonly used Gini index. Inequality manifests itself through a skewed income distribution, unequal access to opportunities, and regional disparities. Low growth and rising unemployment have contributed to the persistence of inequality."
International Monetary Fund
Equity Gap
Cape Town is a city alive with possibility. Despite its unrivalled beauty, dramatic landscapes, ocean views, rich history and culture, it remains riddled with intra-urban inequalities influenced by the strict racial segregation policies during the apartheid era.
One of the most tangible manifestations of inequality in Cape Town is informal settlements, which are unplanned areas without adequate shelter or infrastructure. Estimates vary greatly, but the Western Cape Provincial Government’s socio-economic profile of the city reports that, out of 1,135,000 households in 2021, 185,000 (14.1 per cent) were estimated to live in informal settlements.
Key Challenges
Income distribution highly skewed
The bottom 40 percent of the population holds 7 percent of income (compared to 16 percent for other emerging markets).
Intra-urban inequality
As with other South African cities, Cape Town is highly inequitable, its spatial structure generally still reflective of apartheid urban patterns
High unemployment
Unemployment in Cape Town has been increasing, from 18.3 per cent in 2011 to 29 per cent in 2021 (the latter figure likely exacerbated by the pandemic).
“South Africa has one of the most unequal school systems in the world. Children in the top 200 schools achieve more distinctions in mathematics than children in the next 6,600 schools combined. The playing field must be levelled”
Sheila Mohamed
Executive Director of Amnesty International South Africa
Education Gap
Many schools in more urban neighbourhoods have crumbling infrastructure, classrooms are overcrowded, poor sanitation, no furniture and learning materials arrive late to name a few.
Key Challenges
Crumbling
Infrastructure
Overcrowded Classrooms
No Fee / Low Fee Schools are Full
Teachers are leaving the profession en-masse
How might we create equitable access for young people to high quality, affordable learning experiences without having to build more schools?
Diverse, high quality, "out of school" places for learning exist in Cape Town, but the connective tissue making it a vibrant
learning ecosystem does not
“It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education. Those who do not believe this have small imaginations.”
Nelson Mandela
