IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

South Africa’s economy grew by a marginal 0,1%1 in the fourth quarter (October–December), taking the annual growth rate for 2023 to 0,6%. Real gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter was R1 158 billion. This is above the pre-COVID-19 reading of R1 150 billion, but still below the peak of R1 161 billion recorded in the third quarter   read more »

February is a highlight of Stats SA’s publication schedule, with the release of various economic indicators for December concluding the results for the previous year. The preliminary data point to a lacklustre 2023, with several indicators in the red (Figure 1). Mining production, electricity generation, construction (the value of buildings completed as reported by large municipalities),   read more »

A report released by Statistics South Africa titled Child Series Volume II: Crime Against Children shows that rape cases for children increased by 6,3 percentage points between 2015/16 and 2019/20, whilst both common assault and assault with grievous bodily harm (GBH) decreased by 2,1 and 3,5 percentage points respectively. Moreover, sexual assault cases for children   read more »

The producer price indices (PPIs) for January 2024 will reflect updates to the basket and weights and will be rebased to December 2023 = 100. The weights determine what products should comprise the basket of goods that create the elementary indices of the PPI. The number of products in final and intermediate manufacturing combined will   read more »

After two consecutive months of decline, annual consumer inflation crept up in January, rising to 5,3% from 5,1% in December. The monthly change in the consumer price index (CPI) was 0,1% in January. The categories in the CPI basket with the largest annual price increases were restaurants & hotels at 8,0%, food & non-alcoholic beverages   read more »

Tourist arrivals in South Africa demonstrated a positive trend, with improvements in the numbers recorded from month to month during the period spanning 2021 to 2023. In December 2023, 3,5 million travellers were recorded at South African ports of entry/exit, surpassing the figures for both November 2023, which stood at 2,6 million, and December 2022,   read more »

Annual consumer price inflation pulled back in December, easing to 5,1% from 5,5% in November and 5,9% in October. The consumer price index (CPI) was unchanged month-on-month in December. Inflation was softer in the second half of 2023 The December release concludes the results for 2023. The average inflation rate for the year was 6,0%,   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 »

According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q3:2023) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), total employment in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by 31 000 in the third quarter of 2023, bringing the level of employment to almost 10,2 million. The survey showed that 256 000 jobs were added between September 2022 and September   read more »

Live birth statistics provide a crucial glimpse into the dynamics of human populations, offering valuable insights into demographics, healthcare trends, and societal changes. Understanding live birth statistics is not merely an exercise in number-crunching; it is a gateway to comprehending the health and wellbeing of populations. The data on Recorded Live Births indicates that the   read more »