The 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) underscored South Africa’s pressing labour market challenges, with unemployment remaining a top national concern. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) reports an unemployment rate of 31,9% in Q4: 2024, reflecting the continued difficulty many South Africans face in securing jobs. Beyond unemployment, time-related underemployment remains a challenge,   read more »

Stats SA started the year with 20 new releases. Key economic outputs include the conclusion of consumer inflation data for 2024, the release of a new consumer inflation basket and weights, and the much-anticipated release of the Income and Expenditure Survey (IES) report. Inflation heats up to 3,0% Consumer inflation increased for a second straight   read more »

South African households collectively spent an estimated R3 trillion between November 2022 and November 2023, with the average annual household consumption expenditure amounting to approximately R143 691 during the survey year. These findings are according to the Income & Expenditure Survey (IES) 2022/2023, published by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The survey provides valuable insights   read more »

Market share can be dominated by (and concentrated in) a few firms or shared more broadly across the economy. Concentration ratios and data on small, medium and large enterprises provide insight into the structure of our industries. Concentration ratios for selected markets The concentration ratio indicates the degree to which market share is distributed across   read more »

Annual consumer inflation was 2,9% in November, slightly up from 2,8% in October. There was no change in the consumer price index (CPI) between October and November. Food inflation is the lowest in 14 years Annual inflation for food & non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) witnessed another sharp decline in November, slowing to 2,3% from 3,6% in   read more »

Real South African gross domestic product (GDP) weakened by 0,3% in the third quarter (July–September) of 2024.1 The agriculture industry was the main drag on growth on the production (supply) side of the economy, with transport, trade and government services also contributing to the slowdown. On the expenditure (demand) side, there was a decline in   read more »

Stats SA published 22 releases in November, many of which provide a preliminary snapshot of economic performance in the third quarter (July–September). An overview of the quarter A number of sectors witnessed a rise in economic activity in the third quarter of 2024 compared with the second quarter of 2024. Mining, manufacturing, electricity generation, construction   read more »

The latest set of consolidated government financial data show a rise in spending between the 2021/22 and 2022/23 fiscal years. Several government functions benefited from the increase, while others recorded declines. The Financial statistics of consolidated general government statistical release provides a complete overview of revenue and spending across all 702 government institutions, including national,   read more »

Between 2011 and 2022, access to essential services has improved, with Census data revealing that access to clean water has increased from 85,1% to 88,5%, and improved sanitation from 68,9% to 80,7% — underscoring a decade of progress in service delivery. According to the report The State of Basic Service Delivery in South Africa: Analysis   read more »

Stats SA published 23 statistical releases in October, many of which provide fresh data on the state of the economy. The latest monthly indicators Nationally, mining activity increased by a marginal 0,3% year-on-year in August. Manganese ore, platinum group metals and chromium ore were the largest drivers of growth. Nickel and copper also recorded a   read more »