Salaries for some, while social grants support the rest of the country

The Western Cape (72.9%) and Gauteng (70.5%) are the only two provinces in which more than two-thirds of households reported salaries as their main sources of income.

By comparison, a large dependence on social grants is noticed in Eastern Cape (35%), Limpopo (30.4%), Northern Cape (29.8%) and KwaZulu-Natal (24.6%), Statistics SA said on Tuesday. It was releasing its General Household Survey (GHS 2018).

Gauteng is home to three of the four metros where more than two-thirds of households reported salaries as their main sources of income.

These are Johannesburg (72.9%), Tshwane (71%) and Ekurhuleni (69%). Cape Town (72.6%) was second after Joburg in the top four.

Stats SA said in its report: "While the majority of metropolitan households (more than 50%) depended on salaries as their main source of income, a relatively large dependence on other sources was noticed in Ekurhuleni (14.6%), Johannesburg (13.7%), Mangaung (12%) and Tshwane (11.4%)."

More than one-fifth of households in Nelson Mandela Bay (22%), Buffalo City (20.6%) and Mangaung (20%) listed grants as their main source of income.

"Social grants remain a vital safety net, particularly in the poorest provinces," StatsSA noted.

The percentage of people that experienced hunger decreased from 29% in 2002 to 11% in 2018, the survey showed.

The percentage of households who were vulnerable to hunger reflects the same pattern as experienced by individuals, as it declined from 24% in 2002 to 9.7% in 2018.

Food access problems were the most common in North West where 36.6% of households had inadequate or severely inadequate food access.

Inadequate or severely inadequate access to food were also observed in Northern Cape (32%), Mpumalanga (28%), and Eastern Cape (25%).