The creation of fiscal space in Namibia
ESS-33
131
multiple of 5.4 in relation to 1995 from 2.4 million to 13.0 million and by a multiple of 3.5 in relation to 2000 from 3.8 to 13.0 million. As to coverage, whereas 6.2 per cent of
the South Africans received at least one type of benefit in 1995, by 2008 roughly 27 per cent of the population was covered by one social programme or another.
Public expenditure on the social sector including education, housing, health protection, etc. in 2008 accounted for 15.3 per cent of GDP and 50.9 per cent of total public spending
figure 71. During the last decade social spending grew by 2.6 percentage points of GDP a 20.5 per cent growth. Social spending has also gained ground in terms of government
expenditure, though in 2008 the net increment was only 5.9 per cent higher than in 2000, when half the government budget was allocated to the social sector.
Figure 71. South Africa: Social spending, 2000-2008
Source: National Treasury, 2009; International Monetary Fund, 2010b.
Regarding the composition of South Africas social spending, social protection accounts for the highest share of expenditure and consumes roughly half of available social funds.
Certain general trends can be observed regarding the composition of social spending between 2000 and 2008 figure 72:
• Social expenditure on housing tripled in GDP terms and was by far the fastest
growing component. Almost 8 of every 100 rands are spent on covering housing needs.
• Social protection constitutes about 7.6 per cent of GDP and 50.8 per cent of social
expenditure. •
Education gained a net 0.2 percentage points of GDP but its share of overall social spending dropped from 43.8 per cent to 37.7 per cent.
• The share of entertainment and culture in social expenditure was also smaller.
132
ESS-33
Figure 72. South Africa: Composition of social spending as a percentage of GDP, 2000-2008
Source: National Treasury, 2009; International Monetary Fund, 2010b.
Regarding expenditure on social protection, real per capita spending grew in each of the three categories considered here health, social insurance and social assistance. Social
insurance was the fastest growing component, with a per capita expenditure in 2008 that was almost three times the level observed in 2000. Social assistance also grew 1.6 times,
while public health expenditure lagged behind, increasing by only 31.5 per cent during the period figure 73.
Figure 73. South Africa: Real per capita spending on social protection programmes in Rands, 2000-2008
Source: National Treasury, 2009; ILO, 2010b; International Monetary Fund, 2010b.