Region: Southern Africa Regional Economic Communities (REC): SADC
→ View IIAG Country Statistics
| Indicator | Data |
|---|---|
| Governance (IIAG) | Overall Governance score: 65.9 / 100 · Rank: 4th / 54 · View IIAG Country Statistics |
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South Africa’s population exceeds 60 million. The country faces high unemployment, and a significant proportion of the working-age population is either unemployed or engaged in informal economic activity.
The informal economy includes street vendors, waste reclaimers, domestic workers, and other forms of unregistered or unregulated work. It constitutes a significant share of total employment, particularly among women, youth, and migrant workers. The persistence of informality reflects structural inequality, limited formal job creation, and barriers to entry into the formal labour market.
South Africa became a constitutional democracy in 1994 and operates a mixed legal system based on Roman-Dutch law and English common law.
South Africa re-joined the International Labour Organization (ILO) on 26 May 1994 and has ratified all eight fundamental conventions. The country operates under a Decent Work Country Programme, extended to 2025.
Workers’ rights are constitutionally entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996:
Key labour and social protection legislation includes:
This framework establishes a relatively comprehensive system of labour rights and social protection, although coverage and enforcement vary across the informal economy.
South Africa regulates aspects of informal work through:
These mechanisms extend elements of labour protection into informal sectors, although gaps remain in enforcement and inclusion.
The framework regulates wages, working hours, leave, and termination, and extends labour protections to domestic workers.
Provides the principal legislative framework governing informal trading and business activity.
Supports the integration of waste reclaimers into formal waste management systems.
General labour protections apply to home-based workers where an employment relationship exists.
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