Consumer insolvencies are falling even though South Africans are battling debt, the cost of living, and have no room to save.
South Africans are showing fewer signs of financial distress in one of the country's most severe measures of debt, even as a growing body of evidence suggests many households remain under intense economic pressure.
Statistics South Africa's latest Statistics of Insolvencies report shows that just 61 individuals and partnerships were declared insolvent in June, less than half the 139 recorded in the same month last year.
The figure also marks a sharp decline from May, continuing a broader downward trend that has seen insolvencies fall 27.3% in the second quarter and 11.1% over the first six months of 2026.
So far, this marks the best month since last December, when only 31 people were declared insolvent – although this can be attributed to the overall shut down of SA Inc. from the middle of the month. Januarys the following year, in general, show insolvencies grow at least three-fold.
