One of many comparisons between countries is the size of their economies. In the recent past, a number of people noted that Nigeria had overtaken South Africa as the largest economy on the African continent. Subsequently, articles were written about South Africa being pushed into third place by Egypt, only to regain the silver medal   read more »

“Play is the highest form of research” – Albert Einstein It has been said that a child’s laughter could simply be the most beautiful sound in the world and that children learn through play. But what happens when children’s opportunities to play are stifled by the reality of crime in their neighbourhoods? Stats SA’s latest   read more »

The majority of young people aged 20-34 in South Africa have a higher level of education than their parents. This was just one of the findings from a report on Educational Enrolment and Achievement for 2016, which Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released recently. High-quality training, education, research and innovation are key to the achievement   read more »

Media advisory                                                                                                             read more »

In honour of World Wetlands Day on 2 February, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) revisits a set of indicators on river health in South Africa to remind all of us how important our water resources are. Here are four interesting facts from the National River Ecosystem Accounts for South Africa, published in October 2015 by   read more »

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                          27 January 2017   Living Conditions Survey 2014/2015 The total annual household consumption expenditure between October 2014 and October 2015 is estimated at R1,72 trillion and the average South African household spent approximately R103 293 during the survey year. The main components of this expenditure come from housing and utilities, transport, food, and   read more »

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                        27 January 2017   Community Survey 2016, Agricultural Households    The number of South African households engaged in agricultural activities decreased between 2011 and 2016. There were 550 000 (19,1%) fewer agricultural households in 2016 (2,33 million) than in 2011 (2,88 million).This decline was mainly due to the drought experienced throughout the country   read more »

Stats SA recently announced changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket of goods and services. The changes provide interesting insight into how consumer spending patterns have shifted over the last four years. The basket forms the basis from which the monthly CPI is calculated. There are 412 products and services in the new basket,   read more »

On average, male-headed households spend more on clothing and footwear than female-headed households (R5 343 and R4 364 per annum in 2015, respectively). This is just one of the findings from the Living Conditions Survey (LCS), released by Statistics South Africa recently. The LCS was conducted between October 2014 and October 2015. The results of this household   read more »

The South African formal business sector generated R2,17 trillion in turnover in the third quarter of 2016. To put this into perspective, imagine if you drew this amount in R200 bills and went about giving away a bill every second. It would take 344 years to get rid of all the bills in this way!   read more »