Here’s how many people in South Africa rely on social grants in 2026
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of grants at 4 217 843, followed by Gauteng with 2 972 131
In 2025/26, around 27 million people in South Africa received social assistance transfers, accounting for nearly 43% of the population, according to the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa). At the end of March 2026, Sassa processed 19 million grants, a decrease of 416,778 compared to the first quarter. KwaZulu-Natal led with 4,217,843 grants, followed by Gauteng with 2,972,131, Eastern Cape with 2,816,867, and Limpopo with 2,684,753.
These four provinces accounted for approximately 67% of all grants. The Eastern Cape saw the largest decline, dropping by 76,467 grants, while KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Gauteng experienced declines of 74,297, 65,812, and 49,902, respectively. The Child Support Grant was the most prevalent, with 12,586,421 grants in payment, but it declined by 457,614 between quarters.
The Older Persons Grant was the second-largest, with 4,219,176 grants. The COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant saw 214,985,706 applications processed between April 2025 and March 2026, with 101,889,145 approved and 105,355,080 declined. The agency maintained an average processing rate of 96%, exceeding its 95% target.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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