This paper examines the development of the middle class in South Africa, using data from the
Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development in 1993 and data from the National
Income Dynamics Survey in 2008. Two alternative conceptions of the ‘middle class’ are examined:
The affluent middle class are defined as individuals residing in households with a per capita
income of R1,400 – R10,000 per month in 2008 prices. Although the proportionate size of the
affluent middle class showed little change between 1993 and 2008, there was substantial churning
in the racial composition of the middle class, with a large increase in the number of Africans. The
total income share of the affluent middle class fell slightly over the period due to growth in the
income share of the upper class. The middle class income strata are defined as individuals residing
in households with a per capita household income of between 50% and 150% of the median in the
household income distribution. The middle income strata experienced very little income growth
between 1993 and 2008. Slow income growth appears to be the result of falling labour market
earnings that was buffeted by rising state-welfare income following the expansion of social grants.
Non-income measures of welfare indicate that the living standards of the middle class income
strata improved over the period, as the proportion of middle income households accessing basic
resources significantly increased.