South Africa: Here's How Many People Receive a Sassa Grant

What the report says

South Africa’s social grant system has expanded sharply over the past two decades, according to GroundUp’s latest look at the 20-year history of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). The report says about 25% of the population received a grant in 2006, compared with roughly 41% today. It also notes that the number of grants paid rose from about 12 million when SASSA started operating in 2006 to 26.6 million last year, counting the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.

GroundUp said the biggest jump came during the pandemic, when the temporary SRD grant was introduced for people without income and later extended several times, most recently to March 2028. The article says the grant, now worth R370 a month, added about eight million people to the system at its peak. Excluding the SRD grant, regular grant recipients grew from about 12 million in 2006/07 to 18.8 million in 2025/26.

The child support grant remains the largest part of the system, with beneficiaries rising from 7.9 million to about 12.6 million over the same period. The old age grant also nearly doubled, from 2.2 million to 4.2 million. GroundUp said government spending on grants has increased alongside the beneficiary count, but has remained at just over 11% of total government spending.

The report adds that beneficiary numbers excluding SRD slipped in 2025/26, and Treasury expects further declines through 2029/30 as eligibility checks intensify. Treasury says the reviews are meant to identify incorrect or fraudulent approvals while preserving support for eligible recipients.