The most popular name given to babies in 2017 is Enzokuhle. The name, which shares the top spot for both males and females, loosely translates to, “to do good”. According to the Recorded Live Births, 2017 report released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), a person’s forename and surname are fundamental human rights enshrined in   read more »

August is known to South Africans as Women’s Month as the country commemorates and pays tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. The government of South Africa declared August as Women’s Month and 9   read more »

Annual food inflation continues to slow despite April’s rise in value added tax (VAT). In fact, some food items are actually cheaper than they were a year ago. The items you are now paying less for are in the oil, bread, fruit and sugar categories, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) release.1 Bread   read more »

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                                    31 July 2018   Quarterly Labour Force Survey – QLFS Q2:2018   The official unemployment rate increased by 0,5 of a percentage point to   read more »

Media Release                                                                                                                                   23 July 2018   South Africa’s mid-year population is estimated to have increased to 57,73 million in 2018, representing an overall increase of 1,55% between 2017 and 2018.  Gauteng continues to record the largest share of the   read more »

This year, 2018, marks the centenary (the 100-year anniversary) of the birth of former South African president Nelson Mandela, as well as Albertina Sisulu. This provides a unique opportunity for people around the world to reflect on Mandela’s life and times, and to promote his legacy. The Reserve Bank of South Africa has taken this   read more »

Where does your tax money go after it has entered the state coffers? Recent data provide an overview of how national government distributes money to other levels of government. Stats SA publishes financial data for the different levels of government (i.e. national, provincial, local, extra-budgetary accounts) and higher education institutions in separate reports throughout the   read more »

Eskom announced earlier this year that it would roll out power cuts to several defaulting municipalities.1 The inability of particular municipalities to honour debt payments has been a thorn in the flesh of local government administration. The following are a few key facts about municipal debt, from Statistics South Africa’s latest Financial census of municipalities   read more »

Service delivery protests in South Africa have become a widespread occurrence in recent years. Residents take to the streets in protest against poor services received in their communities, hoping that their voices will be heard and their problems fixed. Communities are raising their voices about issues such as access to electricity, housing, water and sanitation,   read more »

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will be launching its first commemorative Nelson Mandela banknote series in celebration of the first democratically elected president’s birth centenary. These notes will be issued into circulation by 18 July 2018 and will cover all denominations of R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200. As part of the celebrations, the   read more »