IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

Real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by a marginal 0,1% in the first three months of 2024. This followed a revised 0,3% increase in the fourth quarter of 2023. Weaker manufacturing, mining and construction drove much of the downward momentum on the production side of the economy, while the expenditure side witnessed a decline across   read more »

Stats SA collects information on education fees once a year in March. According to the latest review, education is 6,3% more expensive in 2024 than in 2023. High schools recorded the most significant fee increases, followed by primary schools and tertiary institutions. Explore education inflation, as well as other stories, in this edition of Stats   read more »

A water resource account is a balance sheet for a geographical area, providing data on water inflows, water outflows and changes in water storage. Detailed experimental accounts, published for the period 2015 to 2021, provide modelled estimates of water flows for three catchment areas. Explore the evaporation ratio, as well as other stories, in this   read more »

South Africa’s economy grew by a marginal 0,1% in the fourth quarter, taking the annual growth rate for 2023 to 0,6%. Six of the ten industries kept the economy afloat, with the transport, storage & communication industry making the biggest positive impact. On the downside, trade, agriculture, construction and government were weaker. Explore the latest   read more »

Recent data provide a complete overview of how consumer inflation behaved in 2023. The average inflation rate for the year was 6,0%, lower than 2022’s 6,9%. Inflation was relatively hot in the first five months of 2023 (January–May), with the headline rate consistently above 6,0%. The rate then dipped below this level for the remaining   read more »

Real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0,2% in the third quarter of 2023. This followed two consecutive quarters of growth. On the production side of the economy, five of the ten industries recorded weaker results in the third quarter, with agriculture, manufacturing and construction the biggest drags on growth. Explore the latest GDP figures,   read more »

Municipalities that provide services often buy electricity from producers (such as Eskom) and then resell the power to households, businesses and other institutions. Local government spent R50,2 billion on electricity purchases in the first six months of 2023. In turn, they generated R60,0 billion from electricity sales. The R9,8 billion difference between the two represents   read more »

After a two-year hiatus, Stats SA released an experimental set of provincial gross domestic product (GDP) data. Gauteng may be the smallest of the nine provinces in terms of area size, but it has the largest economy. In fact, Gauteng’s economy is larger than the economies of KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape combined. Explore the latest   read more »

Investments in energy infrastructure were detected in the latest set of gross domestic product (GDP) figures. The demand side of the economy saw a sharp rise in capital spending on machinery & equipment in the second quarter, which included products related to renewable energy. This was reflected by import data, with the country recording an   read more »

Employee costs take up a sizable chunk of municipal spending. Staff remuneration costs accounted for 28% of total municipal expenditure in 2022, according to recent data from Stats SA. The aggregate proportion of 28% falls within the National Treasury norm of 25%‒40%. A more nuanced picture emerges if we map all 257 municipalities. Explore local   read more »