President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday.

Below is the SONA in numbers:

Social Assistance 

• More than 26 million – South Africans who continue to receive social assistance every month provided by the democratic state.
• Some 9 million – unemployed people receiving the Special Social Relief of Distress Grant every month.

Unemployment and Job Creation

• Two million ­– people who lost their jobs due to COVID-19.
• 15 to 24 – the ages of millions of young people who were not in employment, education or training, by 8 February 2024.
• More than 1.7 million – work and livelihood opportunities created through the Expanded Public Works Programme.
• More than 1 million – school assistants placed in 23 000 schools through the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
• 23 000 – schools where more than one million school assistants have been placed through the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
• From 8 million to over 16.7 million – the increase in the number of South Africans in employment since 1994 until 2024.
• Over 4.3 million – young people engaged on SAYouth.mobi, a zero-rated platform for unemployed young people to access opportunities for learning and earning.
• 1.6 million – young people who have secured opportunities through the SAYouth.mobi, a zero-rated platform for unemployed young people to access opportunities for learning and earning.

Crime and Corruption

• More than 200 – accused persons being prosecuted by the National Prosecuting Authority.
• R14 billion – value of freezing orders granted to the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit for state capture-related cases.
• Around R8.6 billion – value of corrupt proceeds that have been returned to the State.
• R4.8 billion – unpaid taxes collected by the South African Revenue Service.
• R64 billion – value of civil litigation instituted by the Special Investigating Unit.
• 5 000 – extra police officers deployed to Public Order Policing.
• Over 285 000 – arrests made by the South African Police Service since May 2023 through Operation Shanela.
• 20 000 – police officers recruited over the last two years.
• 10 000 – police officers to be recruited in the year to come.
• Over 100 000 – people stopped by the new Border Management Authority from entering South Africa illegally.

Energy

• More than 2 500 – megawatts of solar and wind power connected to the grid.
• More than 120 – new private energy projects in development.
• More than 14 000 – kilometres of new transmission lines to be built over the coming years to accommodate renewable energy.
• Around R170 billion to almost R240 billion – increases in the value of financing pledges for the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan in the past year.

Economy and Investment

• More than 60 – ships waiting to berth at the Port of Durban in mid-November 2023.
• 12 – ships waiting to berth at the Port of Durban at the end of January 2024.
• R1.5 trillion – value of new investment commitments raised through five South Africa Investment Conferences.
• R500 billion – value of new investment commitments raised through five South Africa Investment Conferences that have already flowed into the economy.
• Approximately 39% – black ownership of mining by 2024, compared with 2% in 2004.

Road Infrastructure

• Nearly 25 000 – kilometres of roads being managed by the South African National Roads Agency Limited.
• More than 1 200 – projects to the value of R120 billion awarded by the South African National Roads Agency Limited in the past five years.
• R120 billion – the value of more than 1 200 projects awarded by the South African National Roads Agency Limited in the past five years.

Land

• 25% – farmland owned by black South Africans through redistribution.
• 30% – target of farmland to be owned by black South Africans through redistribution by 2030.

Labour

• Around 1 000 – black industrialists supported with funding and other forms of support in the last five years.
• More than 90 000 – workers employed by black-owned firms which contribute many billions of rands to the South African economy.
• About 200 000 – workers who obtained ownership of shares in the companies in which they work.
• Over half a million – status of worker ownership in companies in the South African economy.
• Over 6 million – workers whose wages were raised by the introduction of the National Minimum Wage.

Matric

• 82.9% – latest matric pass rate; the highest ever.

Poverty Alleviation

• 71.1% – South African population living in poverty in 1993.
• 60.9% – the drop in the poverty rate by 2010.
• 55.5% – the drop in the poverty rate by 2020.

Health

• More than 100 000 ­– South Africans who lost their lives to COVID-19.
• 54 years – life expectancy in 2003.
• 65 years – life expectancy in 2023.
• 95% – persons diagnosed with HIV who know their status.
• 79% – persons who receive antiretroviral treatment out of the 95% diagnosed with HIV who know their status.
• 93% – persons virally suppressed out of the 95% diagnosed with HIV who know their status.

Housing, Water and Telecommunications

• Nearly nine out of every 10 – households living in a formal dwelling.
• Only 6 out of 10 – people who had access to clean drinking water at the end of apartheid.
• 9 out of 10 – South Africans with access to clean drinking water by 2024.
• 79% – households with access to the internet in 2022.

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide

• Around R21 billion – money dedicated over the medium term to implement the six pillars of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide, including the economic empowerment of women.