Funeral Services and Related Activities in South Africa 2024

A 2020 global research study identified South Africa as the fourth most expensive country in terms of funeral costs, which were 3% above the global average. Funerals can range from a basic casket and service for R10,000 to an extravagant R1m personalised themed service. The choice of in-ground burial, cremation and eco-friendly options is determined by individual preference, religion, culture, tradition, costs and environmental footprint.

The industry consists of a few large companies, with the bulk made up of small informal businesses serving local communities, many of which do not have certificates of competence. The industry is affected by the shortage of cemetery space and reported poor cemetery management and unreliable and non-compliant service provided by some crematoriums and mortuaries.

Trends

• A growing diversity of options and rituals from traditional burial to cremation and eco-friendly options.
• Increased customer demand for green burials.
• Move from rigid traditional religious or cultural traditions to a more personalised approach.
• Rise in popularity of environment-friendly operations and management.
• Steady increase in cremation.
• Use of technology to provide online funeral planning and management and create personalised memorial experiences. Virtual funeral services enable remote attendance.
• Vertical integration to control all aspects of the death and bereavement process to maximise profitability.

Opportunities

• Challenges experienced by municipalities open up opportunities for private sector establishment of memorial parks.
• Customer demand for alternative funeral options.
• Government tenders for funeral and body removal services.
• Opportunities for SMEs to provide related services.

Challenges

• A highly competitive and largely unregulated industry with formal businesses under pressure from informal, often illegal, operators.
• Customer demand for personalised and customised funeral services.
• Electricity supply constraints.
• Flexibility to accommodate diverse cultural and religious practices.
• High number of funeral insurance policy lapses.
• High number of unclaimed bodies at state pathology mortuaries.
• High rate of funeral insurance fraud.
• Maintain the balance between modern trends and preserving cultural traditions.
• Shortage of burial space.
• The high cost of funerals.
• The impact on funeral parlours of some unreliable and non-compliant operators in other parts of the value chain, such as cemeteries, crematoriums and mortuaries
• The intention of the public works and infrastructure department to procure its own furniture, equipment and supplies to avoid using external service providers for state funerals.

Market Outlook

• There are an increasing number of funeral and burial options available.
• Funeral homes must meet the changing needs and behaviour of customers, such as requests for environmentally-friendly services and digitisation.
• Globally, cremations have significantly surpassed burials, and growth is projected to continue.
• The main challenge is striking balance between spiritual, religious and cultural practices and the present and future availability of land for cemeteries.
• Although various alternative burial methods are available, the uptake and availability of these facilities is relatively low.
• The South African Funeral Practitioners Association has called on government to regulate the funeral services sector.

This report focuses on the funeral services and related activities sector in South Africa. It includes information on the state of the industry, costs and requirements of funerals and for operating a funeral business, challenges at cemeteries and state mortuaries and the increase in cremations and other types of burial and body disposal. It includes influencing factors and issues such as religious and cultural practices and environmental impacts.

There are profiles of 22 companies including major players such as AVBOB, Doves, Martin’s Funerals and Icebolethu, transport and repatriation companies such as Total Funeral Logistics, memorial parks developer Calgro M3, crematoriums such as Independent Crematoriums SA and associations such as the Group Burial Association.