Homelessness in Africa: Statistics, Causes, and Solutions

Nov 06, 2025 0

Homelessness is a global issue, and Africa is not exempt. While quantifying homelessness with accuracy is challenging due to a lack of reliable statistics, it's a visible and pressing concern in many African nations.

Poverty as a Root Cause

Poverty levels in Africa remain among the highest in the world due to factors such as political instability, unequal distribution of resources, and climate change.

According to this expert analysis on poverty in Africa, economic growth and policy interventions have helped reduce extreme poverty, but millions still struggle to meet basic needs. These systemic challenges disproportionately affect rural and remote communities, limiting access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.

Africa has the highest extreme poverty rates globally, with 23 of the world’s 28 poorest countries, which have extreme poverty rates above 30%. Using the poverty line of $1.90 per day, Africa’s extreme poverty rate was recently estimated to be about 35.5%. This rate is 6.8 times higher than the average for the rest of the world.

One of the key factors contributing to poverty in Africa is economic instability. High rates of unemployment, income inequality, and economic policies that sometimes fail to prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable citizens of an African nation all play a role. For instance, in sub-Saharan Africa, youth unemployment rates are staggeringly high. This makes it difficult for young people to secure a stable livelihood.

The Situation in South Africa

South Africa faces significant challenges in its quest to reduce poverty. One of the major and most visible manifestations of extreme poverty is homelessness.

Rates of poverty in South Africa are high; the estimated percentage of the population living under the poverty threshold of $3.20 a day is 37.12% in 2022.

No official census exists on rates of homelessness in South Africa, however, estimates indicate that up to 200,000 people in the country live without the basic human right to shelter.

Unemployment and Homelessness

Unemployment rates in South Africa have increased in recent years, rising from 24.3% in 2020 to 28.8% in 2021. With scarce employment opportunities to secure an income, people are plunged into poverty. This, in turn, leads to higher rates of homelessness in South Africa at large.

A survey conducted by the Unit for Street Homelessness at the University of Pretoria in collaboration with the Tshwane Homelessness Forum and the City of Tshwane in October 2022 found that unemployment was the primary reason for the high number of homeless people in the City of Tshwane, Pretoria.

The Legacy of Apartheid

The apartheid era plays a significant role in the issues of homelessness and landlessness that have been affecting South Africans. During apartheid, the government forcibly removed non-whites from their lands and pushed them into subpar neighborhoods known as “townships.”

But, decades since the abolishment of apartheid, “land distribution and economic inequity remain unresolved,” Africanews reports. Since 1994, the end of the apartheid era and the beginning of the first democratic elections, the South African government has been trying to address the housing crisis by providing low-income families with homes funded by the state.

The government has constructed more than 3 million low-cost houses since the end of apartheid to address the need for housing, but the affordable housing shortage still amounts to about 3.7 million houses. Close to 13% of South Africans live in shacks or informal settlements, according to 2019 data from the government.

People from rural areas have migrated to urban city centers for better job opportunities and access to quality schooling and health care services. But, the infrastructure in these cities has struggled to keep up with increasing population numbers.

Homelessness in Wealthy Cities

South Africa is a country of great economic disparity. Johannesburg, located in the North East of the country, is the country’s wealthiest city. Cape Town, nestled on the West Coast, is the country’s second-richest city. Together, the cities share a private wealth of more than $400 billion.

Read also: Amazing Facts About Africa

Despite their wealth, rates of homelessness in Johannesburg and Cape Town are high. Johannesburg has an estimated 15,000 rough sleepers, according to local media outlet GroundUp, and Cape Town has more than 5,000 homeless people. Unemployment rates and a lack of adequate and affordable housing for the poor in these cities contribute to the unequal distribution of wealth, made visible on the streets.

South Africa has the largest gap between rich and poor in the world. According to TIME magazine in 2021, 85% of the country’s wealth is owned by the wealthiest 10% of the population, a result of apartheid as “the world’s most egregious racial divide has turned into its most extreme economic disparity.”

Health and Social Challenges

Homelessness can adversely affect virtually every aspect of a person’s life, from one’s sense of safety and social support to overall health and life expectancy.

People experiencing homelessness have significantly higher rates of mortality and reduced life expectancies.
Homelessness places individuals at significantly greater risk of infectious disease.
Rates of violent victimization are alarmingly high among people experiencing homelessness.
Drug overdose may be a leading cause of death for those experiencing homelessness.
People experiencing homelessness are at an elevated risk of experiencing mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

Experiencing homelessness during the early years of a child’s life negatively impacts development in ways that can affect someone for their entire life.

The Cost of Homelessness

Researchers estimating the community-level costs of homelessness typically consider the financial costs associated with mainstream service usage by individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as the use of homeless programs designed to provide housing and services to those experiencing homelessness.

Every year, the federal government spends about four billion dollars on homeless assistance - a figure that has doubled since 2007. Roughly half of this is used to fund emergency shelter and transitional housing beds.

Homeless program costs are often far greater than the cost of providing rental assistance, and providing transitional or emergency housing to individuals and families who need longer term housing support incurs very high costs.

With higher rates of chronic and acute health issues, people experiencing homelessness have an inherently greater need for health care services. People experiencing homelessness visit Emergency Departments at higher rates than the overall population.

Involvement with the criminal legal system increases a person’s likelihood of experiencing homelessness. In turn, experiencing homelessness can result in more frequent interactions with police and disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration.

Homelessness in South Africa

Taking Action and Potential Solutions

A remedy to homelessness in South Africa is affordable housing and accessible shelters, particularly in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The Johannesburg Homelessness Network is a charity that offers a space to stay for homeless people in the city. The organization takes a multidimensional approach to helping the homeless, providing mental health support and medical care as well as shelter.

Launched in 2018, Cape Town’s program, Safe Spaces, also offers low-cost, secure shelter for the homeless and access to basic health services and amenities.

There’s considerable evidence that supportive housing - especially when provided using a Housing First approach - shows promise for offsetting the costs associated with homelessness incurred by emergency shelters, hospitals, and other local systems.

Supportive housing combines permanent, affordable housing through rental assistance with wraparound services tailored to an individual’s specific needs and preferences. Simply comparing the costs of supportive housing to those associated with emergency shelter, incarceration, and hospitalization makes the case for the cost-effectiveness of permanent supportive housing.

An evaluation of the five-year Denver Supportive Housing Social Impact Bond Initiative (Denver SIB) provides compelling evidence. Launched in 2016, the Denver SIB provided supportive housing to individuals who experienced long-term homelessness and had frequent interactions with the criminal legal and emergency health systems.

The evaluation study demonstrated that compared to a randomized control group, annual per-person costs for local services (i.e., jail, courts, shelter, police, and emergency medical services) were $6,876 lower for individuals that participated in Denver SIB.