Misinformation and hearsay have the power to influence an economy. Thousands of civil servants resigned from their posts in 2014 and early 2015 in response to rumours about proposed pension reforms. The economic effect was large enough to be seen in recent gross domestic product (GDP) data released by Stats SA. The government services sector   read more »

The 132,2% year-on-year rise in platinum group metal (PGM) production in March 2015 pushed overall mining production up by 18,8%, the second highest year-on-year increase since January 1980. It would be tempting to celebrate in response to the pronounced rise in PGM production, but a closer look at the data tells a more sober story.   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is mandated by law, in terms of the Stats Act No. 6 of 1999, to collect reliable statistical information from the public, which informs development and democracy in the country. Stats SA conducts the Population Census, and several other household-based surveys such as the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the   read more »

More people rely on state coffers as the percentage of individuals that benefited from social grants has increased from 12,7% in 2003 to 30,2% in 2013, and the percentage of households that received at least one grant increased from 29,9% to 45,5%. This is according to the latest results of the General Household Survey (GHS)   read more »

Although the number and percentage of households in South Africa with access to piped water has increased steadily over the last decade, household satisfaction with the quality of water services has decreased. This is one of the findings from the latest release of Stats SA’s General Household Survey (GHS). Conducted on an annual basis since   read more »

A new report on the living circumstances of young children shows that, while 93% of young children have both biological parents still living, only 36% of them live with both biological parents. Most young children (43%) live with only their biological mother, 2% live with their biological father only, and 19% do not live with   read more »

22 August 2013 Stats SA’s General Household Survey (GHS) released today shows improvements in key service delivery sectors, as well as a decline in the perceived quality of these services. The GHS 2012 report, conducted between July and September 2012, shows an increase in the number of households who had access to piped water, sanitation   read more »