South Africa’s economy grew by a marginal 0,1% in the fourth quarter, taking the annual growth rate for 2023 to 0,6%. Six of the ten industries kept the economy afloat, with the transport, storage & communication industry making the biggest positive impact. On the downside, trade, agriculture, construction and government were weaker. Explore the latest   read more »

The producer price indices (PPIs) for January 2024 will reflect updates to the basket and weights and will be rebased to December 2023 = 100. The weights determine what products should comprise the basket of goods that create the elementary indices of the PPI. The number of products in final and intermediate manufacturing combined will   read more »

Recent data provide a complete overview of how consumer inflation behaved in 2023. The average inflation rate for the year was 6,0%, lower than 2022’s 6,9%. Inflation was relatively hot in the first five months of 2023 (January–May), with the headline rate consistently above 6,0%. The rate then dipped below this level for the remaining   read more »

There is so much need but not enough money. Often faced with hard decisions on where to allocate scarce resources, governments usually have their own unique spending priorities. The South African government spent R2 187 billion (or R2,19 trillion) in the 2021/2022 fiscal year. This was R83 billion more than the R2 104 billion recorded in 2020/2021. Stats SA’s Financial statistics   read more »

Real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0,2% in the third quarter of 2023. This followed two consecutive quarters of growth. On the production side of the economy, five of the ten industries recorded weaker results in the third quarter, with agriculture, manufacturing and construction the biggest drags on growth. Explore the latest GDP figures,   read more »

South Africa’s working-age population that are discouraged have shown a willingness to shift from being inactive to actively engaging in the labour market, either through employment or job-seeking efforts. This is evident in the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of 2023. The number of persons who were not   read more »

Municipalities that provide services often buy electricity from producers (such as Eskom) and then resell the power to households, businesses and other institutions. Local government spent R50,2 billion on electricity purchases in the first six months of 2023. In turn, they generated R60,0 billion from electricity sales. The R9,8 billion difference between the two represents   read more »

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have emerged as a major global health challenge, affecting millions of individuals worldwide. A new report released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), Non-communicable diseases: Findings from death notifications (2008-2018), explores the changing landscape of NCDs in South Africa over time, highlighting key trends and insights. Data from the World Health Organization   read more »

Municipalities generate most of their revenue from electricity sales. Those involved in providing services buy electricity from producers (such as Eskom) and then resell the power to households, businesses and other institutions. The resulting surplus from this trade is a vital source of income. Electricity’s contribution to revenue Municipalities spent R50,2 billion on electricity purchases in   read more »

After a two-year hiatus, Stats SA has released an experimental set of provincial gross domestic product (GDP) data. Provincial-level figures used to be included annually with the GDP release. Following the publication of the 2019 data, the provincial series was temporarily held back as Stats SA embarked on a complete revamp of national accounts. This   read more »