Water outages across the country have focussed attention on water as a vital resource. South Africa is a semi-arid country, with only a few natural source areas for water. These areas, referred to as Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs), provide much of the water that flows from our taps. SWSAs can be thought of as   read more »

In 2018, females accounted for 51,3% of cancers diagnosed in South Africa while males accounted for 48,6%. The median age at diagnosis of cancer was 59 years for females and 64 years for males. However, the median age at death due to cancer was 62 for females and 64 for males, suggesting that cancer in   read more »

According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q4:2022) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), total employment in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by 48 000 in the fourth quarter of 2022, bringing the level of employment to almost 10 million. The survey showed that 94 000 jobs were lost between December 2021 and December   read more »

Annual consumer inflation rose for the first time in four months, edging to 7,0% in February from 6,9% in January. Food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport were the main contributors to the inflation rate in February. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0,7% between January and February, representing the largest monthly increase since July   read more »

Even though 2020 seems like a lifetime ago, the true extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact is still being pieced together. The recent Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for South Africa report1 sheds light on how the pandemic affected the tourism sector over the period January 2020 to December 2020, most notably in terms of production,   read more »

After rallying in the third quarter of 2022, South African gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 1,3% in the fourth quarter (October‒December).1 Growth was dragged lower mainly by finance, trade, mining, agriculture, manufacturing and general government services. Finance and trade the biggest drags on growth Seven of the ten industries contracted in the fourth quarter.   read more »

Marriage has usually been considered a legally and socially approved union that is regulated by laws, rules, customs and beliefs. However, global and local trends have seen marriages decreasing each year. Marriages are becoming less common, people are marrying later and unmarried couples are increasingly choosing to live together instead of tying the knot. Information   read more »

The Abolishing of Corporal Punishment Act, No. 33 of 1997 banned the use of corporal punishment in schools. Despite the ban, corporal punishment is still used as a form of discipline more than 20 years later. Of those that reported experiencing violence at school, the most common form of violence experienced was corporal punishment by   read more »

South Africa’s unemployment rate decreased by 0,2 of a percentage point to 32,7% in Q4:2022 compared to Q3:2022. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2022, there were about 28 thousand more people who were unemployed than in Q3:2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, South Africa had 7,8   read more »

Retail trade statistics have a strong seasonal pattern. For instance, actual retail sales are usually much higher in November and December because of the effect of Black Friday and the festive season. Seasonal adjustment removes these effects based on historical patterns, which helps with the analysis of underlying trends. Stats SA has published seasonally adjusted   read more »