Spending and income play an important role in determining local government’s ability to deliver services. The ability of a municipality to generate its own income is an important sign of its independence. The Quarterly Financial Statistics of Municipalities (QFSM) survey collects data on municipal operating expenditures and incomes on a quarterly basis. The December 2018   read more »

The December 2018 QES survey showed that an estimated 10 151 000 people were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy, which is up by 87 000 from 10 064 000 in the previous quarter. The number of people working part-time increased by 37 000 to 1 065 000 in the   read more »

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                   22 March 2019   Statistics South Africa to release the ‘Education Series Volume V: Higher Education and Skills in South Africa, 2017’ Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) will release the results of a thematic report on education “Education Series Volume V Higher Education and Skills in South Africa, 2017” on Thursday, 28   read more »

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                             20 March 2019 Statistics South Africa to   read more »

Consumer inflation edged up slightly from 4,0% in January 2019 to 4,1% in February 2019, remaining firmly within the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) inflation target range of 3%–6%. Notable drivers behind the rise were medical insurance and transport costs. Stats SA surveys health insurance fees in February of each year. On average, medical-aid schemes   read more »

In the past few months, many companies such as hotels, restaurants and coffee shops started switching from plastic straws to paper straws as a response to the public outcry demanding action against the continued use of plastic straws. Even though this small straw may not seem like a lot at first, when its usage is   read more »

MEDIA STATEMENT                                                                                                                           13 March 2019   Release of the Violence Against Women report cancelled Statistics South Africa has cancelled the release of the Violence Against Women report that was scheduled for 14th March 2019. During the final quality check,   read more »

Believe it or not, there was a time – not so long ago – when the South African government actually spent less than it earned. Stats SA takes a look at government spending over 13 years, focusing on how much we pay to service our debt. Harking back to better times in February’s National Budget   read more »

Fancy a meal out, or would you rather save up for accommodation when on holiday? We take a peek into the spending habits of domestic and international visitors who criss-cross the South African landscape. Visitors1 spent just over half a million rand every minute during the course of 2017! That amounts to R277 billion for the   read more »

The South African economy grew by 1,4%1 in the fourth quarter of 2018, contributing to an overall growth rate of 0,8% for the entire year. The latest set of gross domestic product (GDP) figures released by Stats SA provides an overview of economic performance in 2018. South Africa found itself in economic recession in 2018,   read more »