Category Archives: Articles

Four facts about our rivers you probably didn’t know

Four facts about our rivers you probably didn’t know

In honour of World Wetlands Day on 2 February, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) revisits a set of indicators on river health in South Africa to remind all of us how important our water resources are. Here are four interesting facts from the National River Ecosystem Accounts for South Africa, published in October 2015 by   read more »


Media Release: Living Conditions Survey (LCS) 2014/2015

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                          27 January 2017   Living Conditions Survey 2014/2015 The total annual household consumption expenditure between October 2014 and October 2015 is estimated at R1,72 trillion and the average South African household spent approximately R103 293 during the survey year. The main components of this expenditure come from housing and utilities, transport, food, and   read more »


Media Release: New basket and weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                             27 January 2017 New basket and weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)   There are 412 products and services in the new CPI basket, an increase from 396, which now includes new products such as instant noodles, frozen pizzas and pies, and ready-mixed flour products. Stats SA announced the changes to the   read more »


Media Release: Community Survey 2016, Agricultural Households

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                        27 January 2017   Community Survey 2016, Agricultural Households    The number of South African households engaged in agricultural activities decreased between 2011 and 2016. There were 550 000 (19,1%) fewer agricultural households in 2016 (2,33 million) than in 2011 (2,88 million).This decline was mainly due to the drought experienced throughout the country   read more »


UN World Data Forum wraps up

PRESS RELEASE UN World Data Forum wraps up with launch of Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data   United Arab Emirates selected to host next Forum   (Cape Town, 18 January)  — The inaugural United Nations World Data Forum is concluding today with the launch of a global plan for better data   read more »


Tourism: jobs, the economy and spending

Tourism: jobs, the economy and spending

Despite a drop in the number of tourists visiting South Africa, the tourism industry continued to create jobs in 2015. Stats SA’s latest release of its Tourism Satellite Account for South Africa report provides an overview of tourism’s contribution in terms of employment, its impact on the gross domestic product (GDP) and spending. The number   read more »


Employment in the formal non-agricultural business sector increased in the third quarter

The September 2016 QES survey showed that an estimated 9 282 000 persons were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy. This reflected a net quarterly increase of 93 000 employees (1,0%) between June 2016 and September 2016 following a revised decrease of 96 000 employees (-1,0%) between March 2016 and   read more »


Africa Rising: Growth in Africa through steadfast statistics

Africa Rising: Growth in Africa through steadfast statistics

The continent is working towards attaining “the Africa we want”. Key to achieving this goal, through the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063, are quality and relevant statistics.   African Statistics Day is celebrated each year on 18 November. Africa celebrates this day to raise awareness of the importance of statistics in all aspects of   read more »


Media Statement: Financial Statistics of higher education institutions

Media advisory                                                                                                    25 October 2016     Financial statistics of higher education institutions, 2015   The Financial statistics of higher education institutions, 2015 report released by Statistics South Africa today shows that South Africa’s public higher education institutions had a total income of R63,1 billion from operating activities in the financial year ended 31 December   read more »


How important are student fees?

How important are student fees?

Armed with a wealth of recent financial data from South Africa’s higher education institutions, Stats SA unpacks the revenue mix for the country’s 20 universities and 6 universities of technology. Higher education institutions depend mostly on government grants and tuitions fees for income, according to data from Stats SA’s latest Financial statistics of higher education   read more »