Media Statement                                                                                     21 September 2016 Statistics South Africa to make changes to CPI basket and weights Statistics South Africa today announced that it would make changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket of goods and services, and the weights attached to these, with effect from the January 2017 release of the CPI.   read more »

Industry growth rates depend on many factors, and the South African manufacturing industry is no exception. The state of the local and global economy and the rand exchange rate are some of the factors that are watched closely when assessing the performance of manufacturing production.   Figure 1 shows the severe impact of the global   read more »

You might celebrate World Chocolate Day today (7 July) by sitting back and feasting on your favourite slab of sugary goodness. At Stats SA, we love our chocolate. But we also love data and all things statistical. So, to honour today, we’ve teased out a few facts about the price of chocolate that you, as   read more »

Rising food prices are again in the spotlight. Stats Biz takes a closer look at food prices in this edition. Which provinces are experiencing high food inflation? What impact may rising food prices have on the poor? How quickly are vegetable and fruit prices climbing? Explore food prices, as well as other economic stories, in   read more »

Data from Stats SA’s latest Financial statistics of national government report1 provides some insights into government spending on social grants. Below are just two examples about the grant spending social welfare system in South Africa. Fact 1: For every R100 national government spends on social grants, R42 goes to family and children grants; R41 goes   read more »

Many have commented on South Africa’s drought and how rapidly food prices have been rising. The latest release of Stats SA’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) unpacks the South African food basket to examine which items might be contributing to your rising grocery bill. Imagine a basket sitting in front you, filled with a range of   read more »

The South African economy was hit hard by the global economic crisis of 2008/2009. The country’s manufacturing industry contracted sharply, and its subsequent recovery has been insufficient for the volume of manufacturing production to return to its pre-crisis level. Figure 1 shows SA’s manufacturing production (volume) compared with OECD industrial production.1 Preliminary manufacturing data for   read more »

A growing number of forecasts reveal that food prices might rise sharply in coming months. Survey data show which parts of the country are most vulnerable. Current data point to an agriculture industry that is struggling. During November 2015, in the midst of South Africa’s worst drought in 23 years, Stats SA released gross domestic   read more »

If you are thinking of celebrating international beer day on 7 August 2015 with your favourite pint, take a few moments to consider how this beverage might affect your pocket. South Africans love their beer. Households allocated 60% of their expenditure on alcoholic beverages to this type of drink, followed by wine (23%) and spirits   read more »

Want to know more about how various parts of South Africa’s economy are performing? Then Stats SA’s Monthly economic indicators report might be for you. Available from the Stats SA Roambi app, the report includes a variety of economic indicators from selected Stats SA publications. Available as interactive time-series charts, the following indicators are included:   read more »