With the estimated income for a single black South African at R2900, spread across a household of 3.9 people, the cost of living is proving to be unaffordable. The Basic Needs Basket is a monthly survey of the cost of essential food and non-food items that comprise the items that a low income family in both rural and urban areas across the nine provinces of South Africa deem necessary.

To gain further insight into the scope of a decent standard of living, the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) in partnership with the Association of Community-based Advice Offices of South Africa (ACAOSA) with support from the Church of Sweden, the Basic Needs Basket project was re-launched in 2014 to monitor, across the 9 provinces of South Africa in both rural and urban areas, frequently purchased items (food and non-food essential items) by lower income households on a monthly basis to ascertain people’s everyday basic needs.