Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine the income and expenditure patterns of the employed, unemployed and not economically active populations of these rural villages and to compare it with the Soweto suburbs. The paper analyses the poverty gap of every household. Due to the sensitivity of households about their income the questionnaire surveys the expenditure in great detail to determine monthly expenditure. Not surprisingly, many households have a higher expenditure per month than their income. Some respondents refused to divulge their income and in other cases it is obvious that the income is too low to afford the expenditure per month. These and other problems create the opportunity to solve these issues in this paper. The selected villages form part of the Vhembe District Municipality of Limpopo and is arguable the poorest area in South Africa. Soweto is a world renowned city with many suburbs and large differences in income. A poorer suburb in Soweto with similar income and size will be selected for the comparison. Calculating the income according to employment status shows that many households are dependent on pensions and child grants. Although research has been done in urban areas such as Soweto, very little empirical research has been done in rural areas in South Africa.