The BBC tracks the crucial issues facing South Africans ahead of the 29 May general election.
South Africa, one of the continent’s richest and most influential countries, goes to the polls on 29 May amid concerns about unemployment, high crime rates and power cuts.
However from 2011 there has been a downward trend in average incomes, leaving many feeling less well-off and leading to accusations that the governing party has mismanaged the economy. Using a measure known as the Gini coefficient, which looks at the proportion of income different groups of households receive, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world.
It has barely recovered from its peak during the pandemic and currently nearly a third of South Africans who are looking for work are unable to find a job.Unemployment has hit young people particularly hard. More than 44% of 15 to 34-year-olds are not in education, training or employment. In their election manifestos, the political parties are pledging to tackle the high levels of crime that have plagued the country for many years.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the level of violence as a war being waged against women, but his party faces criticism over its handling of the problem.The planned outages - known as load-shedding - have disrupted people’s lives and damaged economic growth.
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