Gauteng recorded the highest number of civil summonses for debt in March at 11,547, followed by the Western Cape at 6,826 and KwaZulu-Natal at 6,044.
South Africa saw a mixed picture in civil debt cases during the first quarter of 2026, with civil summonses for debt edging lower even as the value of judgements increased.
According to new Statistics South Africa data, the total number of civil summonses issued for debt decreased by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, while civil judgements recorded for debt fell 1.7%. However, the value of civil judgements rose 0.6% to R832.4 million.
The figures come as South Africans face mounting debt pressure across income groups, with rising living costs, elevated borrowing costs and weak economic growth driving more consumers towards debt counselling and formal debt review processes.
Recent research from DebtBusters found some higher-income earners were using up to 85% of their take-home pay to service debt, while 63% of consumers overall spent more than 30% of after-tax income on repayments.
