Racial disparities in human capital: Numeracy in South Africa, 1850–1980

South Africa prior to 1994 constitutes a paradigmatic case of entrenched racial segregation and state-sanctioned discrimination. Black, Coloured, and Asian populations were systematically relegated to a subordinate status compared to the dominant White minority. Drawing on direct statistical sources, such as censuses and national budgets, this study explores long-term disparities through the lens of numeracy, a proxy for basic arithmetic skills. We analyse numeracy levels by race across cohorts born between the 1850s and the 1980s, with a particular focus on the Black population, given its demographic predominance. A key contribution is to document heterogeneity by province of residence, alongside gender and birth cohort. Our results show clear and persistent gaps in numeracy by race and gender, with Black individuals and women consistently disadvantaged. Notably, numeracy levels indicative of full numeracy were not attained by the Black population until the 1960s cohort, more than a century after White individuals had reached that threshold. Strikingly, we also find comparatively high numeracy levels in the homelands; while data-quality concerns remain, this pattern is consistent with scholarship on African agency and locally sustained educational initiatives.