The South African economy slumped sharply in the first three months of 2019, contracting by 3,2%.1 Seven of the ten industries took a knock, with manufacturing, mining and trade the biggest contributors to the fall. Construction, mining and trade are in recession. The 3,2% decline is the biggest quarterly fall in economic activity since the   read more »

Housing projects are not reducing the percentage of households in informal dwellings. The survey shows that 81,1% of all households resided in formal dwellings in 2018. Although the percentage of households that have received some kind of government subsidy to access housing has increased from 5,6% in 2002 to 13,6% by 2018, 13,1% of households   read more »

25 May is National Wine Day! Here are a few fun facts to muse over if you’re planning to enjoy a glass or three.   SA households spend more on wine than on coffee South Africans have clear priorities when it comes to drink. Wine takes up 7,2% of total household expenditure on alcoholic and   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) will be conducting the 4th population census in a democratic dispensation in 2021. Information collected from the census is crucial for proper planning in the country. Consultations on census themes and questions form part of mandatory census planning activities as prescribed in the Handbook on the Management of Population and   read more »

Media advisory                                                                                                                               22 May 2019 Statistician-General releases the results of the General Household Survey, 2018                                                                       The Statistician-General of South Africa,   read more »

Annual consumer inflation softened to 4,4% in April 2019 after hitting a three-month high of 4,5% in March 2019. While food inflation remains quite stable, rising petrol prices continue to place pressure on consumers. Inflation has remained within the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) target range of 3–6% for two years (since March 2017). The   read more »

Did you know that in 2017, 6,8 million South Africans experienced hunger? While the number has dropped from 13,5 million in 2002, it still affects 1,7 million households across the country. These figures were released in a recent survey, “Towards measuring the extent of food security in South Africa: An examination of hunger and food   read more »

On 8 May 2019, millions of South Africans braved the cold and wet weather and headed to the polls to cast their votes in the country’s sixth democratic elections. The excitement across the country was so tangible that President Cyril Ramaphosa said the 2019 elections were reminiscent of the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.   read more »

The youth aged 15–24 years are the most vulnerable in the South African labour market as the unemployment rate among this age group was 55,2% in the 1st quarter of 2019. Among graduates in this age group, the unemployment rate was 31,0% during this period compared to 19,5% in the 4th quarter of 2018 –   read more »

 MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                                                               14 May 2019                    Quarterly Labour Force Survey – QLFS Q1:2019  The results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the first quarter of 2019 released by Statistics South Africa, indicate that the official unemployment rate increased by 0,5 of a percentage point to 27,6% compared to the fourth quarter   read more »