South Africa’s natural resources in the spotlight The natural environment provides resources that drive the economy and other human activities. Stats SA recently released estimates on the amount of energy, mineral and fishery resources available in South Africa, and the extent to which these are being consumed. The following are three interesting observations from the   read more »

The December 2014 Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey showed that total formal non-agricultural employment increased by 42 000 jobs from 8 947 000 in the third quarter to 8 989 000 in the fourth quarter of 2014. The quarterly increase was mainly due to increases reported by the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor   read more »

The technical challenges experienced by Statistics South Africa in data acquisition from the Department of Home Affairs have been resolved. Statistics South Africa has successfully received the backlog data and analysed them for the statistical releases. Since the write-up of the April to December 2014 Tourism and Migration statistical releases is completed, they will be published over   read more »

Changing fuel prices affect us all. With the recent downward trend in prices seemingly coming to an end, South Africans are again left wondering how the petrol price will affect their pockets. Consumer inflation data released today1 provide an indication of the impact that the recent period of low petrol prices had on the cost   read more »

‘Poverty – and its common consequences such as malnutrition, homelessness, poor housing and destitution – is a major contributor to vulnerability.’ This is according to the World Health Organization. Many children in South Africa find themselves in such vulnerable situations. Some are orphans (children whose both biological parents have passed away), while others reside in   read more »

Media Release 12 March 2015   Education Series I: Focus on schooling in Limpopo report  gives details on the status of schooling in Limpopo About 97,9% of Limpopo residents between the ages of 7 and 18 years were attending some form of educational institution in 2013, up from 95,1% in 2002. This is according to   read more »

Monthly gold production reached a new monthly low in January, according to data released by Stats SA1. Although a number of temporary factors might have contributed to the unusually low level, general historical trends show that gold has lost the prominent place it once had in the South African economy. Stats SA has published comparable   read more »

Less electricity was generated in South Africa in January 2015 compared with January 2014, according to preliminary results. The volume of electricity produced fell by 1,5%. The volume of electricity available for distribution also decreased, falling by 1,3% year-on-year. Electricity production dropped by 1,5% from 21 090 GWh (gigawatt-hours) in January 2014 to 20 769 GWh January   read more »

Headline producer inflation, which measures the change in prices of final manufactured goods, has continued to decline. The annual rate fell to 3,5% in January 2015, down from 5,8% in December 2014 and a peak of 8,8% in April 2014. Falling prices for coal and petroleum products continued to drive producer inflation down, while higher   read more »

South Africa’s economy grew by 1,5% in 2014, down from 2,2% in 2013, according to preliminary estimates of real gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA. Eight of the ten industry groups experienced some growth during the year, while two industries shrank in size. The industry that grew the fastest in 2014 was agriculture1,   read more »