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The information in this section was obtained from the Western Cape Government's 2022 Socio-Economic Profile (SEP) Report. The information forms the context within which the longer term strategy for Goal 1 was formulated.
EDUCATION
The learner-teacher ratio increased from 32.0 in 2020 to 32.9 in 2021, which is lower than the recommended norm of up to 40:1 for ordinary primary schools and 35:1 for ordinary high schools as set by the Department of Education.
With a learner retention rate (Grade 10 to 12) of 75.1% in 2021 for the West Coast District area, learner retention remains a critical challenge across the District. Although the Swartland area has one of the higher retention rates within the District (76.1% in 2021), it still remains a serious concern.
The learner retention rate is influenced by a wide array of factors, including economic influences such as unemployment, poverty/very low household income/indigent households, as well as social concerns such as teenage pregnancies, overcrowded classrooms, student attitudes towards education, as well as other personal circumstances which can make it difficult for learners to focus on education.
Swartland’s matric pass rate remained unchanged at 85.8% in 2020 and 2021. Swartland’s matric pass rate remains the highest in the District and is also higher than the Province’s rate of 80.7%.
HEALTH
In 2021/22 the Swartland area had five primary healthcare facilities comprising four fixed clinics and one community day centre. The municipal area also had nine mobile/satellite clinics. In addition to these primary healthcare facilities, there is also one district hospital, 14 ART clinics/treatment sites and 15 TB clinics/treatment sites
The immunisation rate in the Swartland area decreased only very slightly from 64.4% in 2020/21 to 63.5% in 2021/22, keeping the rate at well below the ideal level. There was also a worsening in the proportion of malnourished children under five years, from 1.0 per 100 000 people in 2020/21 to 1.5. It is one of the highest rates in the District (1.1), where rates range from a low 0.0 per 100000 people in Saldanha Bay, to a high 2.8 in the Cederberg area.
While the low birth weight indictor (less than 2500g) for the Swartland area presented an improvement from 12.1% in 2020/21 to 11.5% in 2021/22, the neonatal mortality rate (per 1000 live births) registered a deterioration from 2.1 in 2020/21 to 4.9 in 2021/22.
When considering maternal health in the Swartland area, zero deaths per 100 000 live births were recorded in 2021/22 (maternal mortality rate of zero), a marked improvement from the previous year's 211.9. For the period 2020/21 to 2021/22 the delivery rate to women under 20 years decreased from 15.8% to 14.8%, while the termination of pregnancy rate remained unchanged at 0.2%.
POVERTY
The National Development Plan (NDP) has set a target of reducing income inequality in South Africa from a Gini coefficient of 0.7 in 2010 to 0.6 by 2030. However, between 2015 and 2021, income inequality in the Swartland area worsened, with the Gini-coefficient increasing from 0.58 in 2015 to 0.61 in 2021. Worsening income inequality could also be seen across the District (0.58 in 2015 and 0.61 in 2021) and Province (0.60 in 2015 and 0.62 in 2021) over the same period.
As per definition, the Upper Bound Poverty Line (UBPL) is the proportion of the population living below the UBPL i.e. that cannot afford to purchase adequate levels of food and non-food items. In 2021, 57.7% of Swartland’s population fell below the UBPL. This figure improved somewhat from the 59.9% and 59.6% recorded for the periods 2015 and 2018, respectively. Within the West Coast District region, Saldanha Bay (59.1% in 2021) represents the highest proportion of people living in poverty; the Cederberg area (52.8%) has the lowest proportion in the region.
SAFETY
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