SOUTH AFRICA:THE AVERAGE black South African's income has more than doubled since the end of apartheid and over 2.6 million black people are now considered middle class, according to new research on the country's largest ethnic group.
A survey released by the South African Advertising Research Foundation last week reveals that the country's ongoing economic growth has led to the average monthly income rising from R2,435 (€192) to R5,870 (€463).
The AMPS survey, which used face-to-face interviews with a sample group of over 21,000 people, divided the majority of the country's black population into 10 living standard measure (LSM) groups with group one the poorest and group 10 the wealthiest.
It was found the number of people now occupying LSM groups 7 and 8 (who earn between €656 and €887 a month) had risen by 45 per cent on the previous survey six months ago, while the numbers in groups 9 and 10 (who earn between €1,165 and €1,650 a month) had risen by 21 per cent.
Despite the country's ongoing power problems, the number of people with electricity at home had increased from 68.7 per cent in 1997 to 88.4 per cent last year.
A second survey, "Black Diamond 2007: On the Move", found that the emerging black middle class, the "Black Diamonds", now comprised more than 2.6 million South Africans as opposed to the two million the researchers recorded in 2005.
However, when one takes into account that approximately 38 million of South Africa's 47.9 million people are black, it is apparent the number of black South Africans living in dire poverty still remains extremely high. Unemployment is officially put at 31.3 per cent for black South Africans.
Nevertheless, the Black Diamonds' combined annual buying power has grown enormously since the study's predecessor from the end of 2005.
At that time their buying power was recorded at R130 billion (€10.28 billion), but in 2007 this figure had shot up to R180 billion (€14.23 billion).
"Perhaps the most important figure here is that 12 per cent of South Africa's black population - that is Black Diamonds - account for over half (54 per cent) of all black buying power," said Prof John Simpson, of the UCT/Unilever Institute, which compiled the survey.
Overall, the annual buying power of South Africa's black population rose from R300 billion (€23.7 billion) in 2005 to R335 billion (€26.46 billion) in 2007, while the buying power of the 4.3 million white population rose from R230 billio(€18.17 billion) to R235 billion (€18.56 billion).