On 23 March 2022, it marked exactly two years since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the COVID-19 lockdown (an emergency protocol that requires South Africans to stay at home except for essential purposes) in South Africa for 21 days from 26 March 2020 to 16 April 2020. Although the lockdown was meant to last for only   read more »

  What is poverty and what does it mean to be poor? Does it mean not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter? Does it mean not being able to afford to buy a car or furniture for your home or even go on holiday because your income does not   read more »

Net profit before tax in the formal business sector tumbled by 33,4% in the financial year 2020 compared with 2019, with business services and manufacturing the hardest hit. The data, from Stats SA’s latest Annual financial statistics (AFS) survey1 , which mostly covers the period before the lockdown, show that total net profit before tax   read more »

Note: The original version of this article, published on 1 December 2021, was based on fuel price adjustments announced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on 29 November. On 1 December, the DMRE made changes to these adjustments. This article was revised on 2 December 2021 to reflect these changes. Fuel prices   read more »

According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the 3rd quarter of 2021, the number of employed persons declined by 660 000 to 14,3 million compared to the 2nd quarter of 2021. The decline in employment is coupled with a decline in the number of unemployed persons to 7,6 million from 7,8 million, resulting in   read more »

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions in 2020 impacted the finances of higher education institutions. There was a subdued increase in revenue, stifled by a decline in the collection of tuition fees. Higher education institutions spent less money, largely on the back of lower operational costs. Total revenue increased, but only marginally The amount   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is the official agency that measures South Africa’s inflation rate. Up until now, Stats SA has been collecting price information for categories of products typically purchased in retail outlets through field workers who have been using paper questionnaires. However, starting from the first quarter of 2022, Stats SA will be   read more »

Provincial government plays a vital role in the administration of the country’s health and education systems, responsible for providing basic education to learners and healthcare to those in need. These two mammoth tasks take up the bulk of provincial government spending. In the 2019/20 fiscal year, total provincial government expenditure was R628,8 billion. Education was the   read more »

In the third of four detailed industry reports released this month, Stats SA takes a deep dive into the mining industry. The report, which covers the results of a census conducted in 2019, provides detailed statistics on mineral production, finances, employment, and exports and imports. The mining census was conducted previously in 2012 and 2015.   read more »

Four facts about the post and telecommunications industry (2019) In the second of four detailed industry reports released this month, Stats SA takes a look at the post and telecommunications industry. The report, which covers the results of a large sample survey that was conducted in 2019, provides details on the financial and employment makeup   read more »