In 2015, 193 countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a framework to guide global development for the subsequent 15 years. South Africa’s 2025 SDG country report thus comes at the 5-year mark from our 2030 deadline. The 2025 SDG country report focuses on tracking South Africa’s progress towards achieving the 2030 global agenda, with the use of both qualitative and quantitative data.

Over the years poverty has declined steadily but too slowly to meet the 2030 targets set out in the SDGs and the NDP. Between 2006 and 2023, the share of people living below the lower-bound poverty line fell from 57.5% to 37.9%, reducing the number of poor people by 4.1 million. Social grants and remittances remain the main buffers against poverty, while high unemployment continues to constrain progress.

While poverty has seen some improvement over the years, those who experienced food insecurity showed a different story. The proportion of households in South Africa that experienced moderate to severe food insecurity was estimated at 15.8% in 2019, 16.2% in 2022, and 19.7% in 2023.

Despite these challenges, South Africa continues to strengthen partnerships through increased domestic revenue mobilisation, with total government revenue reaching 31.3% of GDP in 2022, alongside enhanced international cooperation. Notably, national statistical capacity has improved significantly, enabling reporting on 89.0% of national indicators in the 2025 SDG cycle, up from 64.0% in 2019.