Industry growth rates depend on many factors, and the South African manufacturing industry is no exception. The state of the local and global economy and the rand exchange rate are some of the factors that are watched closely when assessing the performance of manufacturing production.   Figure 1 shows the severe impact of the global   read more »

 Media release                                    12  September 2016   Farming communities are unreceptive towards health survey fieldworkers       South African Demographic and Heath Survey (SADHS) fieldworkers are experiencing challenges in some areas of the country, which is delaying the completion of data collection for the survey. Most of the areas in which fieldworkers find themselves not welcome are   read more »

You might be surprised to learn that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is not a national government department. It is in fact an extra-budgetary account (EBA), together with other entities such as the Public Protector and the Gautrain Management Agency. Read further to find out how the financial pie is divided amongst this diverse   read more »

South Africa’s 232 extra-budgetary accounts (EBAs) paid out less money in the form of social benefits in the 2014/15 fiscal year. Social benefits are transfers in cash or in-kind to the public that diminishes exposure to social risks such as unemployment, sickness due to disabilities and injury.   Social benefits paid by EBAs amounted to   read more »

Municipalities continue to invest heavily in service delivery-related infrastructure, according to Stats SA’s latest Capital expenditure by the public sector report. Municipalities increased their total capital expenditure (or capex) from R51,7 billion in 2014 to R59,0 billion in 2015, a rise of 14,3%. The largest component of municipal spending on infrastructure in 2015 was on   read more »

How well have South African businesses performed? This can be a complicated question that can be tackled with a range of indicators. From the wealth of financial data available from the recently published Quarterly Financial Statistics (QFS), Stats SA takes a look at one such indicator: the profit margin ratio.   A limitation of financial   read more »

Stats SA distinguishes between various types of construction activities, including free-standing houses, townhouses, flats, offices and shopping space. The following infographic shows which of these are the most costly to build, according to Stats SA’s latest Selected building statistics of the private sector as reported by local government institutions. Nationally, it would cost you an   read more »

Media Invite 1 July 2016 Statistician-General to release formal sector employment statistics for the first quarter of 2016   The Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla, will release the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) for the first quarter of 2016. The QES measures changes in employment across all industries in the formal sector of the   read more »

Patrick Kelly, Executive Manager for Price Statistics, provides some insights into how inflation affects the most vulnerable. The combined effect of the severe drought and the depreciation of the rand drove annual food inflation to 9,8% in March, its highest level in four years. Periods of high food inflation often spark an outpouring of concern   read more »

The South African economy was hit hard by the global economic crisis of 2008/2009. The country’s manufacturing industry contracted sharply, and its subsequent recovery has been insufficient for the volume of manufacturing production to return to its pre-crisis level. Figure 1 shows SA’s manufacturing production (volume) compared with OECD industrial production.1 Preliminary manufacturing data for   read more »