Wherever you go, you transform the landscape. Imagine living the entirety of your life in the map below. Your daily routine might resemble a zig-zagging pattern as you move across the square cells of the grid. Where you choose to live, work, commute, shop, socialise and play – you influence the economic, social and environmental   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) provides scientific knowledge that enables society to understand complex socio-economic phenomena. It draws its mandate from the Statistics Act, 1999 (Act No 6 of 1999) and POPI Act 2013 (Act 4 of 2013). Stats SA strives to excel in the following five competencies: Intellectual capability to lead the scientific work   read more »

Say hello to Stats SA’s new logo! Stats SA has changed from using the drum to using the Coat of Arms as its logo. This was precipitated by a legal opinion from Stats SA’s Legal Services division that, by using a logo that did not include the Coat of Arms, the department was in contravention   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has changed from using the drum logo (figure 1) to using the Coat of Arms as its logo (figure 2). This was precipitated by a legal opinion from Stats SA’s Legal Services division that, by using a logo that did not include the Coat of Arms, the department was in   read more »

In 2015, Stats SA published an article highlighting the contribution that small businesses make to industry turnover in South Africa.1 The March 2019 Quarterly financial statistics (QFS) report provides an update. The entire formal business sector2 generated R2,39 trillion in turnover in Q1: 2019. Out of this amount, large businesses contributed 62%, followed by small (29%) and   read more »

We often hear of how much municipalities are in debt. But there is another side of the coin. Municipalities themselves are owed money, often by consumers and institutions. Debt owed to South Africa’s 257 municipalities (referred to as net current debtors1) totalled R72,4 billion in the 2018 financial year, according to the latest Financial census of   read more »

Media Release                                                                                                                                              25 June 2019                          QUARTERLY EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS The results of the Quarterly employment survey (QES) for the first quarter of 2019 released by Statistics South Africa, show an increase of 22   read more »

Note: The original version of this article was published on 25 June 2019, with the international tax-to-GDP ratio figures based on data from the IMF. After discussions with National Treasury, it was agreed that tax-to-GDP figures from the OECD provide a more relevant picture when South Africa is compared with other countries, as the IMF   read more »

Annual consumer inflation was 4,5% in May 2019, slightly up from the 4,4% recorded in April 2019. The inflation rate has remained below the 6% monetary policy ceiling since April 2017. During this time inflation has averaged 4,7%. Prices increased by 0,3% on average in May. This was mainly driven by a 3,3% rise in   read more »

After every five years, the national and provincial elections take place where South Africans elect their preferred President and the five-year-term for cabinet ministers elapses. On 08 May 2019 marked the 5th democratic elections and saw Cyril Ramaphosa being unanimously elected as the president of South Africa. A few days after his swearing in, President   read more »