Treasury expects the number of grant beneficiaries (excluding social relief of distress (SRD) grant recipients) to increase from around 19 million in 2023/24 to just below 20 million in 2026/7. Including SRD grants, the total number of grant recipients could exceed 28 million this year. This would take the share of South Africa’s population that receives some form of social grant to almost 50 percent from 7 percent in 1996. Relative to GDP, grant expenditure has fallen to around 3.5% of GDP in 2022/23 in the most recent Budget from a peak of 4.5%.
