The 1970s are best remembered for disco, bell-bottoms, and the mesmerising lava lamp. It was also the decade that saw South African mining forge ahead in its influence on the economy and employment. How has the economy in general, and mining in particular, shifted since then? Mining’s contribution to total economic production climbed in the   read more »

MEDIA STATEMENT                                                                                                                                                     2 April 2017 Postponement of Quarterly Employment Survey – QES December 2016 release The Quarterly Employment Survey is establishment based and covers formal sector businesses which are registered for VAT and government departments at all levels. This implies that the survey depends on the business register as a sampling frame. However, new   read more »

International Whisk(e)y Day is on 27 March1. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of bourbon or rye, then the following is for you. Take a brief tour of what Stats SA has to say about whiskey in terms of its popularity and price. If whiskey is your preferred alcoholic beverage, you stand somewhat apart from   read more »

The number of trips taken by South Africans travelling domestically is on the decline. This was just one of the findings from the Domestic Tourism Survey 2015, which was released by Stats SA this week. The survey collects information to understand the travel behaviour of people in South Africa to determine the contribution of tourism   read more »

A fall in mining and manufacturing production in the final quarter of 2016 pulled South African economic growth into negative territory, according to preliminary figures of gross domestic product (GDP) released by Stats SA. South Africa’s economy contracted by 0,3% quarter-on-quarter (seasonally adjusted and annualised). The mining industry’s 11,5%1 drop in production was the main   read more »

Some striking charts show how non-profit institutions (NPIs) in South Africa keep themselves afloat. Stats SA’s latest Statistics of the non-profit sector for South Africa report, released earlier this week, provides a range of data on the non-profit sector, including data on where NPIs source their income. The images below show how the major sources   read more »

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 »

Don’t despair. There is hope. We promise. Finding that special someone to spend Valentine’s Day with has just become a little bit easier. From left field in the realm of dating advice enter the statisticians, who combine data and geography to show you where you can look for love. Surprised? Well, consider the fact that   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 »

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 »