Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke presented the findings of Statistics South Africa's General Household Survey 2025 in Cape Town on Tuesday, revealing that social grants continue to serve as a vital safety net for millions of households amid persistent poverty, unemployment and economic hardship.
More than half of South African households received at least one social grant in 2025, nearly half of all children lived with their mothers only, and almost three-fifths of 24-year-olds were not in employment, education or training, according to Statistics South Africa's General Household Survey released in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Presenting the findings, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said South Africa's household structures continued to reflect the country's socio-economic realities.
"Nuclear and extended households reflect the country's complex social and economic history, as well as the persistent challenges related to poverty and unemployment," Maluleke said.
The survey found that more than a quarter (26.6%) of households consisted of a single person, while 38.5% were double-generation households comprising parents and children. A further 14% were triple-generation households where three or more generations lived under the same roof.
