Establishment of benchmarks : final report

Key findings are as follows. Quality of life indicators show wide discrepancies between ethnic groups. Life expectancy varies from 58 years for colored males to 77 years for white females. Infant mortality has declined substantially, if unevenly, in recent decades from 165 down to 54 per 1,000 for blacks and much lower for others. Literacy, housing, and standard of living indicators also show great discrepancies, and, taken together, indicate the challenges ahead. Income per capita varies from R27,847 among whites to R11,212 for Asians, R7,650 for coloreds, and R3,686 for blacks. In regard to employment, the study shows that blacks, though a majority of the formal workforce, are almost always stuck in unskilled or low-skilled jobs and constitute 87% of the unemployed, although those who obtain professional positions are likely to receive wages equal to those from other ethnic backgrounds. Blacks have the lowest monthly income, though black men and black women have similar incomes. White women, by contrast, have lower incomes than white men. In regard to entrepreneurship, black-owned businesses in the formal sector tend to be in retail and wholesale trade, catering and accommodation, personal services, construction, and transportation. In the informal sector, most self-employment and business ownership is in the service industry. In terms of asset ownership, 26% of blacks have savings accounts, but less than 2% have retirement annuities or pension plans and less than 1% have investments, although 11% own vehicles. Reliable data are not available on franchise ownership or the value of housing stock owned. The study concludes by providing a set of indicators for measurement of progress over time and sources where such data can be obtained on an ongoing basis.