In 2024, South Africa marks 30 years of democracy—a milestone that coincides with the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994. This dual commemoration underscores the transformative power of inclusive data to shape equitable futures, the theme of this year’s World Population Day which was   read more »

In a major stride toward addressing employment challenges, South Africa has officially launched its Labour Market Information System (LMIS), a groundbreaking platform aimed at revolutionising how labour data is collected, analysed, and shared. The LMIS, unveiled in September 2024, is a collaborative effort led by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL), the International Labour   read more »

The latest set of consolidated government financial data show a rise in spending between the 2021/22 and 2022/23 fiscal years. Several government functions benefited from the increase, while others recorded declines. The Financial statistics of consolidated general government statistical release provides a complete overview of revenue and spending across all 702 government institutions, including national,   read more »

Between 2011 and 2022, access to essential services has improved, with Census data revealing that access to clean water has increased from 85,1% to 88,5%, and improved sanitation from 68,9% to 80,7% — underscoring a decade of progress in service delivery. According to the report The State of Basic Service Delivery in South Africa: Analysis   read more »

South African universities faced a turbulent journey during the #FeesMustFall movement in 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Both events had a significant impact on higher education funding. Stats SA explores how revenue streams for universities have shifted in the last decade, and how they were shaped by these two events. The #FeesMustFall movement   read more »

Stats SA published several quarterly and annual reports in September, along with the usual set of monthly indicators. South African economy expands in the second quarter The month began with the release of the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures, covering the second quarter of the year. The economy saw some growth, mainly lifted by   read more »

A picture can tell an intricate story. The graphic below speaks for 257 public institutions. Figure 1 shows the distribution of revenue across South Africa’s extra-budgetary accounts and funds (EBAs). In the 2022/23 financial year, EBAs received or generated R390,2 billion in revenue, according to the latest data. EBAs play a significant role in the financial management   read more »

South Africa’s population has now exceeded 63 million, according to the latest mid-year population estimates for 2024. The country’s population grew by approximately 835,513 individuals, marking a 1,33% increase from July 2023 to July 2024. The data reveals that over half of the population is female, totalling around 32 million people. Provincial population estimates indicate   read more »

The primary role of South Africa’s 257 municipalities is to provide water, electricity, refuse removal, sanitation and other services to millions of households. This mammoth task requires extensive resources. Municipalities spent R532 billion in 2022. This total includes both operational1 and capital expenditure,2 published in two separate statistical releases. If we consider the Census 20223 national population   read more »

There is so much need but not enough money. Often faced with hard decisions on where to allocate scarce resources, governments usually have their own unique spending priorities. The South African government spent R2 187 billion (or R2,19 trillion) in the 2021/2022 fiscal year. This was R83 billion more than the R2 104 billion recorded in 2020/2021. Stats SA’s Financial statistics   read more »