IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                              18 September 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stats SA prepares to collect comprehensive information on household income and expenditure by visiting over 31 000 dwelling units across the country during the Income & Expenditure Survey (IES 2022/23).

The IES 2022/23 is a household-based sample survey specifically designed to collect detailed household income and expenditure information needed to measure and profile poverty and inequality in the country. The data collected from the survey is essential in providing evidence-based information for monitoring the main NDP targets of reducing the Gini coefficient to 0,60, and the population living below the lower-bound poverty line (LBPL) to 0%, by 2030.

The IES 2022/23 uses a combination of diary and recall methodologies and will collect detailed expenditure information on a range of items such as food and beverages, clothing and footwear, housing and utilities, transport, education, health, communication, recreation and culture, accommodation and meals away from home. Unlike other surveys or the recent Census, the IES requires sampled households to participate in the survey for a period of four weeks rather than a once-off interview. During this time, a household questionnaire containing four modules will be administered (i.e. one module per week) and respondents will also be asked to keep a weekly expenditure diary (supplied by Stats SA) to record their daily acquisitions and purchases for a period of two weeks.

“The funding and preparation of the IES comes at a time when there is an ever-increasing demand for data in South Africa to determine the impact of the COVID pandemic on household finances and the economy at large. This will be the first expenditure survey to be conducted by Stats SA since 2014/15, following allocation of specific funding by National Treasury”, said the Statistician-General of South Africa and head of Stats SA, Mr Risenga Maluleke.

The IES survey will also help South Africa better understand the impact of social grants in reducing poverty. One of the key objectives of the South African government is to reduce the level of poverty and improve the quality of life for all South Africans. These priorities are the cornerstones of the National Development Plan (NDP), published in 2011, that sets the country’s long-term development goals for 2030.

The IES is also a critical data input to the consumer price index (CPI), the survey will provide inputs into the selection and reweighting of goods and services that make up the CPI basket.

The year-long data collection process will see 547 contracted field staff visiting over 31 000 sampled dwelling units across all nine provinces and settlement types. Data collection for the IES is scheduled to start in the first week of November 2022 and will run until the end of 2023. Publicity activities for the survey will begin in September 2022 with Publicity Officers visiting communities in sampled areas to raise public awareness and begin the process of preparing sampled households for the survey process.

“We are appealing to sampled households to cooperate with our field staff by making time to respond to the questionnaire,” said Mr Maluleke. Stats SA has appointed Mr Werner Ruch, a highly experienced expert in this field, as the Project Director for the IES 2022/23 to ensure the successful implementation of the IES project.

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For technical enquiries contact:

Mr Werner Ruch

IES 2022/23 Project Director

Cell: 082 906 7957

Email: WernerR@statssa.gov.za

For media enquires contact:

Ms Felicia Sithole

Cell:  076 430 0693

012 339 2407

Email: FeliciaS@statssa.gov.za