Most surveys conducted by South Africa’s national statistical service body, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), are not specifically designed for use in poverty analyses or for the purpose of assessing progress made towards poverty reduction.

The first StatsSA survey designed expressly for this purpose was the 2008/2009 Living Conditions Survey. This survey used several poverty lines:

• Food poverty line of R305 per person per month (using March 2009 figures) and relates to a threshold amount that an individual needs for required food intake
• Lower-bound poverty line of R416 per person per month (using March 2009 figures) and consists of the food poverty line of R305 plus the average amount derived from non-food items of households whose total food expenditure is equal to the food poverty line
• Upper-bound poverty line of R577 per person per month and consists of the food poverty line plus the average amount derived from non-food items of households whose total food expenditure is equal to the food poverty line.

For purposes of making international comparisons and measuring progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), government also considers the international poverty line of $1.25 and $2.50 per person per day, which are amounts based on a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) criterion.