Debt cases drop, but the average bill still bites at R29,000
Based on the total value of judgements recorded in November, the average civil judgement for debt was just under R29,000.
Image: Nicola Barts | Pexels
Fewer South Africans were taken to court over unpaid debt in November 2025, official data from Statistics South Africa shows.
Yet, the picture is not simply one of financial relief.
Based on the total value of judgements recorded in November, the average civil judgement for debt was just under R29,000.
This comes as the number of civil summonses issued for debt dropped to 29,587 in November, a 7.4% decrease compared with November 2024.
Over the three months ending in November, summonses were also down by 7.1% year-on-year.
Judgements recorded by courts – where a judge orders repayment of debt – also fell.
There were 9,394 civil judgements in November, 12.6% less than a year earlier, and down 7.6% over the three-month period.
At 1,872 cases, there were more judgements handed down in the Western Cape than any other province – followed by Gauteng at 1,825.
Statistics South Africa details the data behind November 2025's debt cases.
Image: ChatGPT
This is despite Gauteng accounting for a third of all summons’ issued during the month, compared to the Western Cape’s almost 6,000 summons.
Despite the drop in cases and judgements, the total value of judgements remained high at about R270.5 million in November.
This was 15.1% lower than in November 2024 but only 0.8% lower over the longer three-month comparison.
The data also shows how different debt types contribute to the picture. Civil actions linked to money lent, services and ‘other’ debts were among the biggest downward contributors to the fall in summonses and judgements.
While summonses for most types of debt fell, the number of court cases for unpaid rent rose slightly, partly offsetting the overall decline.
In terms of the value of judgements, services and money lent together accounted for nearly half of what courts ordered repaid in November, with 20% or more coming from “other” debts and promissory notes.
While fewer debt cases are reaching the courts, the amounts involved in cases that do proceed remain significant, according to the Statistics South Africa data.
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