Education inflation recorded its lowest annual rate in three decades, according to the latest consumer inflation data. Education fees increased by 4,1% in 2021, the lowest annual increase since at least 1991. Explore the cost of education, as well as other stories, in this edition of Stats Biz. Download Stats Biz – April 2021

Education inflation recorded its lowest annual rate in three decades, according to data from Stats SA’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) release. Stats SA surveys educational institutions and crèches once a year in March. Education fees increased by 4,1% in 2021. Last year’s rise was 6,4%. Historical data shows that this is the lowest increase   read more »

For many of us who are fortunate enough, things just work. Turn on a tap, and water flows. Flip a switch, and there is light. We often take for granted the extremely complex system that provides us with services every day. Local government is a vital cog in this system. South Africa’s 257 municipalities are   read more »

Like all other commodities, South Africa’s production of platinum group metals (PGMs) was volatile in 2020 as miners tried to navigate the uncertainty and economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a snapshot of how PGM production, prices and sales fared during the year. Supplies were adversely affected by COVID-19 related mine disruptions   read more »

Collection of contact details In March 2020, in the interest of respondent and staff safety, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) took a decision to stop all face-to-face fieldwork operations, and collect data for household surveys telephonically. Regular surveys that have been affected by this decision were the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), which gives us   read more »

More than a year after Stats SA suspended face-to-face data collection due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stats SA Survey Officers (SOs) will return to the field to collect contact details from households that have been selected to participate in one of our household surveys. “We have updated our sample, and need to collect contact details   read more »

There are two sides to every coin. Service delivery in South Africa is often measured from the demand side, via household surveys and the Population Census. What you might not know about is that data also exist for the supply side, collected from those who provide services. Every year Stats SA asks municipalities to provide   read more »

Economic growth is often quite lumpy. A national measure of gross domestic product (GDP) is useful to gauge how a country is doing as a whole. Still, it misses the fact that economic activity varies across towns, cities and regions. Stats SA’s most recent quarterly GDP release provides national data for the entire year of   read more »

Jobs in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by 76 000 in the fourth quarter of 2020, bringing the total number of persons employed in the formal non-agricultural sector in South Africa to approximately 9,64 million. This is according to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q4:2020) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). Year-on-year, formal sector   read more »

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                            25 March 2021   Statistician-General to release the results of the Non-financial census of municipalities, 2019 The Statistician-General of South Africa, Mr Risenga Maluleke, will release the results of the Non-Financial Census of Municipalities (NFCM) 2019, at a media briefing to be held on Wednesday, 31 March 2021 in Pretoria. The NFCM   read more »