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 »

Annual consumer inflation slowed for the third consecutive month, decreasing to 6,9% in January from 7,2% in December. A notable fall in the price of fuel was the biggest factor behind the dip in the headline rate. Food inflation, on the other hand, continues to accelerate. The consumer price index (CPI) declined by 0,1% between   read more »

Consumer inflation hit its highest level in 13 years during 2022. The average inflation rate for the year (6,9%) hides the differences in timing and extent of price increases for different product groups. Transport and food & non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) had the biggest impact on overall inflation. Breaking the year down, the headline rate was   read more »

Annual consumer price index (CPI) inflation registered its second monthly decline in December, edging lower to 7,2% from 7,4% in November and 7,6% in October. The monthly rate in December was 0,4%.   The December release concludes the results for the calendar year. Average annual inflation for 2022 was 6,9%, higher than the 4,5% recorded   read more »

According to the Recorded Live Births, 2021 report released by Statistics South Africa, almost 1 million births occurred in 2021 and the most popular baby names were Lethabo and Melokuhle for boys and girls respectively. Melokuhle, Lethabo and Lethokuhle were the most popular names amongst both baby girls and boys in South Africa in 2021.   read more »

According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q3:2022) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), total employment in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by 10 000 in the third quarter of 2022, bringing the level of total employment to approximately 10 million. The survey showed that jobs increased by 31 000 between September 2021 and   read more »

Consumer price inflation moderated slightly in November to 7,4% from 7,6% in October. The monthly change in the consumer price index (CPI) was 0,3% in November, slightly lower than the 0,4% recorded in October. The three categories with the highest annual inflation rates in November were transport (15,3%), food & non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) (12,5%) and   read more »

Marked by COVID-19, the 2020–2021 period was incredibly challenging for the South African economy. Data from Stats SA’s latest Annual financial statistics (AFS) survey, which includes the first three months of the hard lockdown, shows a decline in formal business turnover and expenditure. The AFS reference period typically entails a lag effect: the survey reference   read more »