Here is a picture of the sad decline of South Africa as told by the numbers.
Population in 2006 was 47.6 million. In 2000 it was 45.6 million.
Percentage urban population in 2007 is 60.2 percent. In 2000 it was 56.9 percent.
Percentage of population under 15 in 2004 was 32.8 percent. It was 34.0 percent in 2000.
Average life expectancy in 2004 was 47.0 years, down from 50.2 years in 2000.
Infant mortality remained constant between 2000 and 2005 at 55 per 1 000 live births.
Child mortality - deaths before the age of five - showed a slight drop from 70 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 68 per 1,000 live births in 2005.
Births attended by skilled personnel stayed at 84 percent from 1996 to 2004.
Maternal mortality was 230 per 100,000 live births in 2000. No other figures are available.
The Human development index (HDI rank) in 2004 was 121, down from 107 in 2000.
Percentage of children under weight for age (under age 5) remained the same from 1996 to 2005 at 12 percent.
Population with access to improved water showed a slight increase. In 2004 it stood at 88 percent, compared to 86 percent in 2000.
Population with access to improved sanitation showed a dramatic fall. In 2004 it was only 65 percent, compared to 87 percent in 2000.
The average literacy rate dropped from 85.3 percent in 2000 to 82.4 percent in 2003.
Landlines telephones dropped to 100 per 1,000 people in 2005, from 109 per 1,000 people in 2000.
Cellular telephone subscribers stood at an incredible 716 per 1,000 people in 2005, compared to 183 per 1,000 people in 2000!
Internet users nearly doubled. In 2005 it stood at 108 per 1,000 people. It was only 53 per 1,000 people in 2005.
The Transparency International corruption ranking (1=least corrupt, 145=most corrupt) tells another sad story. It dropped from 34th in 2000 to joint 51st in 2006.
From 1990 to 2001 the percentage of population living on less than US$1 a day was less than 2 percent. From 1990 to 2004 it was 10.7 percent.
TB cases in 2004 were 718 per 100,000 people, up from 515 per 100,000 people in 2000
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Labels: South Africa humanitarian facts figures
