Each city develops its residential landscape in its own, unique way. Do town planners opt to spread a city outward with more free-standing homes, upward with high-density housing, or a combination of both? Explore how the development of housing is taking shape in our metros, as well as other stories, in this edition of Stats   read more »

Real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0,5% in the third quarter (July–September) of 2025.1 This follows a revised increase of 0,9% in the second quarter and marks the fourth consecutive rise in economic activity. Mining grows the most Nine of the ten industries on the production (supply) side of the economy were stronger in   read more »

The latest round of economic data provides clues on how well the economy performed in the third quarter (July–September) of the year. Monthly indicators largely positive Except for electricity generation, freight transport, and road passenger transport, business indicators were upbeat in the third quarter (Figure 1). Mining activity expanded by 2,5%, with platinum group metals driving   read more »

Each city develops its residential landscape in its own, unique way. Do town planners opt to spread a city outward with more free-standing homes, upward with high-density housing, or a combination of both? Stats SA’s latest ten-year review of private sector building statistics1 provides clues on the types of residential patterns forming in metropolitan municipalities.   read more »

If you want to know what matters to the government, look at its budget. An analysis of audited financial statements for 705 government institutions highlights South Africa’s fiscal priorities. General government spent R2,4 trillion in 2023/24,1 according to the latest Financial statistics of consolidated general government statistical release.2 The general public services category was the largest   read more »

South Africa’s latest labour market results show that the unemployment rate fell to 31,9% in the third quarter of 2025, down by 1,3 percentage points from the previous quarter. While the decline in the official rate is encouraging, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) says there’s more to understanding the world of work than this single   read more »

In a year marked by fewer births and shifting demographics, one thing remains constant: the power of a name. According to the latest Recorded Live Births (RLB) data from Statistics South Africa, parents in 2024 showed a clear preference for names that reflect joy, resilience, and cultural pride. Lethabo, Lubanzi, and Nkazimulo topped the charts   read more »

The latest set of physical energy flow accounts released by Stats SA provides two new energy indicators which answer the following questions: To what extent does South Africa depend on energy products of other countries to meet its energy needs, and how much energy do South African households use per person? Physical energy flow accounts   read more »

South Africa gears up to host the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit, placing the nation firmly on the global stage. The G20 is an international forum that brings together the world’s major economies to discuss and coordinate global economic and financial priorities. The forum consists of 19 countries and two regional bodies—the European Union and   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has released a statistical product on small area population estimates at the electoral ward level. The population estimates were produced using Census 2011 and Census 2022 data. This product provides insights into age and sex structure as well as population group dynamics at this level of geography based on 2020   read more »