The countdown to South Africa’s 2026 local government elections has begun. With the municipal council term in South Africa expiring on 1 November 2026, the preparations for the next general elections are underway. On 10 March 2026, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced that voter registration for the 2026 local government elections will take place   read more »

South African tourism had a rough time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plummeting visitor numbers led to job losses across the sector. Recovery has been slow, but recent data show a positive trend. In 2019, an estimated 777686 individuals were directly employed by the tourism sector, declining sharply to 456311 individuals in 2020 as the pandemic   read more »

Stats SA had a busy month in March, publishing 35 statistical releases. Key economic outputs include monthly business cycle indicators for January, gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the fourth quarter of 2025 and fresh data on tourism from two separate sources. January was a mixed bag Mining; retail trade sales; motor trade sales; tourist   read more »

Multidimensional child poverty refers to children experiencing multiple and overlapping deprivations simultaneously across key aspects of well‑being, not only income. These deprivations affect their development, survival and future opportunities. A recent report by Stats SA and UNICEF, Child Poverty in South Africa: Assessing Changes in Multidimensional Poverty using the MODA Approach (2015–2023), examines trends in   read more »

According to the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES, Q4:2025) survey released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), total employment in the formal non-agricultural sector increased by18 000 (0,2%) in the fourth quarter of 2025, with employment rising from 10,533 million in September 2025 to 10,551 million by December 2025. According to the survey, 102 000 jobs were   read more »

MEDIA STATEMENT 29 March 2026 Stats SA responds to Cybersecurity breach Stats SA is aware of a cybersecurity breach affecting one Human Resources database. The system that was breached is exclusively the HR system available for job seekers to apply online. The national statistics office is part of a wider government response to matters dealing   read more »

Nesstar data access service, the primary platform for accessing unit record data, will be discontinued on 31 December 2024. The service discontinuation is due to the closure of the organisation that provided Nesstar licensing and support services over the years. The platform provided access to downloadable data flat files, together with the associated metadata. SuperWEB2   read more »

South Africa, like many countries globally, grapples with the challenge of youth unemployment. This is supported by statistics indicating a 45,5% unemployment rate among young individuals (aged 15-34 years), in contrast to the national average of 32,9% in the first quarter of 2024. However, when looking at the Labour Market Dynamics in South Africa report   read more »

South Africa has recorded 50 consecutive days without load shedding as of 15 May 2024. This marks the longest period of uninterrupted power supply in nearly three years. It also surpasses the festive season record (15 December 2023 to 2 January 2024) when the country experienced 18 days without load shedding, following a 20-day load   read more »

  MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                   09 May 2024   Statistics South Africa to release the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), Quarter 1 of 2024   read more »