Real buying power is declining and black South Africans are still earning way less than other races‚ except for those at the top of the ladder where black households' living standards are improving. Fortune is also smiling on our Indian compatriots who are rapidly closing the pay gap. That's according to Standard Bank economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi‚ who has looked at living standards indicators from 2000.His analysis shows that living standards for South Africans improved the most during the period 2000-2005‚ with GDP growth of 10%. The period 2011-2015 recorded the lowest per capita growth at just 2%.Analysis of disposable income per capita shows that average income for South Africans grew the slowest in the period 2011-2015‚ at 3%‚ versus 12% in 2000-2006 and 5% in 2006-2010."Although both GDP and disposable income per capita has been showing improvement‚ this improvement is at a gradually slowing pace‚" Mkhwanazi said.The Gauteng population has the highest personal income per capita (R70 000 p/a).In real terms‚ however‚ the purchasing power of individuals living in Gauteng declined by 6% between 2011 and 2014‚ he found.Of the metros‚ Tshwane has the highest nominal personal income per capita (R79 100 per annum) followed by Johannesburg (R76 550) and Cape Town (R73 980 p/a)."However‚ between 2012 and 2014‚ the real per capita income in Tshwane and Johannesburg declined by 7% and 7.3% respectively‚ in contrast to Cape Town where real personal income per capita rose by 3.3%‚" said Mkhwanazi.At the bottom of the rung are Mangaung with the lowest personal income per capita for a metropole‚ at R47 800‚ and Limpopo‚ which has the lowest personal income per capita for a province‚ at R29 500 p/a.Analysing income disparities by race‚ Mkhwanazi found that the white population has the highest income per capita (R215 000 p/a) whereas the black population have the lowest (R29 000 p/a).Between 1996-2014‚ the Indian/Asian population saw the fastest growth in per capita income (468%).Similarly‚ between 2011-2014‚ the Indian/Asian population saw the fastest growth in income per capita (28%)‚ and coloureds had the slowest (20%)."In relative terms‚ for every R1 earned by white individuals‚ blacks earn 13 cents and this has not changed since 1996. Notably‚ the Indian/Asia population seems to be closing the gap to whites quicker than to both blacks and coloureds."For every R1 earned by white counterparts‚ Indians earn 51 cents‚ up from 43 cents in 1996 and 50 cents in 2011‚" he said.Reviewing the Living Standards Measure (LSM)‚ he found that the rollout of services and welfare payments‚ together with growth in disposable income‚ have been responsible for lifting many out of the lower LSMs.In 2011‚ there were around 661 000 adults in the LSM 1 category‚ and this has reduced to fewer than 500 000 in 2015."However‚ migration into higher LSMs (LSM 8-10) seems to have stagnated in recent years. The SA adult population is clustered around LSM 4-7 categories‚ accounting for over 60% of total. “Together‚ KZN‚ GP and WC account for 83% of those living in the highest standard.Of those in the LSM 10 category‚ 40% are in Gauteng (down from 50% in 2011).By race‚ LSM 10 comprises 49% whites (down from 61% in 2011) and 30% are black (up from 25%)...