The December 2020 Consumer Price Index (CPI) release concludes the data points for the entire calendar year. The average annual inflation rate for 2020 was 3,3%. This is the lowest annual average rate since 2004 (1,4%) and the second lowest since 1969 (3,0%). One of the reasons for low inflation in 2004, according to the   read more »

The General Household Survey, 2019, which tracks the progress of development and identifies persistent service delivery gaps in South Africa, was recently released by Statistics South Africa. Now in its eighteenth year, the survey has yielded a rich set of information across a wide variety of fields such as education, health, disability, social security, housing,   read more »

As government introduces new legislation to further support small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs), recently released data from the 2019 Annual Financial Statistics (AFS) survey shows the growing role that small businesses play in the formal business sector. The National Small Enterprise Amendment Bill 2020, gazetted recently, outlines the establishment of an ombud service that   read more »

According to the Quarterly employment statistics (QES) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), jobs in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by 75 000 in the third quarter of 2020. This brings the total number of persons employed in the formal non-agricultural sector in South Africa to approximately 9,6 million. According to the report, formal   read more »

With South Africa officially facing its second wave of COVID-19 infections, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has released an innovative online mapping tool that shows which communities may be more adversely affected by COVID-19 outbreaks. The South African Covid-19 Vulnerability Index (VIndex) was developed as a way of using the smallest area population data available   read more »

South Africa’s economy rebounded in the third quarter of 2020 (July–September), coinciding with the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. All industries recorded an increase in economic activity compared with the second quarter, with manufacturing, trade and mining leading the charge. Businesses were supported by an increase in both exports and household spending. Gross domestic product   read more »

One might assume that urban and cultivated land have expanded over time with South Africa’s growing population. Data compiled form 24 years of satellite imagery reveal a more complex picture. Explore land cover change, as well as other stories, in this edition of Stats Biz. Download Stats Biz – November 2020

The land under our feet is, in several senses, living. Alive in terms of the organisms that support healthy soils to cultivate crops. Active in terms of abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) factors that interact with each other to create distinct ecological systems. Malleable in terms of the changes that humans bring about. Digital snapshots   read more »

Housebreaking or burglary has consistently been the most common crime experienced by households in South Africa. The number of households that experienced this crime in the five years preceding the survey has increased from 2,1 million in 2015/16 to 2,3 million in 2019/20. This is according to the Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey (GPSJS)   read more »

A recent release from Stats SA provides a breakdown of financial data from all 708 institutions in government. This article provides an overview of what government spent money on in 2018/19, with focus on the public service wage bill. South African general government spent R1,79 trillion in 2018/19, according to the latest Financial statistics of consolidated   read more »