| INSIDE STATISTICS |
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Stats SA survey compares municipal service delivery to SA averages 2008-03-14 06:00:01 Municipalities play a pivotal role in the delivery of the basic social services necessary to improve the living standard of South Africans. Yet it is sometimes difficult to establish what progress individual municipal structures are making in meeting this core obligation, and how each municipality is performing compared with provincial and national averages. [Full Story...] Survey gives the scoop on how the poor spend 2008-03-05 06:00:01 Statistics SA yesterday released the results of its income and expenditure survey (IES) conducted during 2005 and 2006. This survey has a number of separate but complementary objectives. It is an important input into identifying the goods and services whose price fluctuations are measured to calculate the consumer price index. [Full Story...] Africa takes a mantle cut to professional measure 2008-02-29 06:00:01 Now is a busy time in the engine room of official statistics, with a host of new data released this week and more due out in the coming weeks. [Full Story...] SA plays a key role sustaining Africa's statistical systems 2008-02-22 06:00:01 In just four decades the systems of statistics in Africa have passed through three seismic waves. The first occurred in the immediate aftermath of decolonisation, when Africa experienced a decade of dramatic development of its systems of national statistics, particularly in the implementation of population censuses and household surveys. [Full Story...] Stats SA to carry out targeted survey to assess poverty battle 2008-02-15 06:00:01 In his state of the nation address last Friday, President Thabo Mbeki referred on a number of occasions to poverty alleviation and reduction. [Full Story...] Community survey shows progress on millenium goals 2007-11-08 06:00:01 When all 191 member states of the UN adopted the Millennium Declaration in September 2000, the international community was, in effect, committing itself to an expanded vision of human development. [Full Story...] Turnover increases in all SA industries 2007-11-01 07:34:01 Total annual turnover for all South African industries increased by 15,1 percent last year, compared to 2005. In monetary terms, 2006 turnover was estimated at R3,4 trillion, compared with the revised estimates of R3 trillion in 2005. [Full Story...] Community survey finds living in SA is getting easier for all 2007-10-25 06:00:01 Since at least 1995, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has been monitoring change in the delivery of services to households, through successive October and general household surveys and the population censuses of 1996 and 2001. [Full Story...] Financial data give view into costs of higher education 2007-10-18 06:00:01 Student protests against proposed fee increases at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg have received considerable attention these past weeks. Government grants to institutions of higher education, financial assistance to students, access to bursaries and fee requirements involving upfront fee payments have all come under scrutiny. [Full Story...] MPC has access to wealth of data when determining policy 2007-10-11 06:00:01 Later today, the SA Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce its decision on the rate at which the bank lends money to the commercial banking sector - the repo rate. [Full Story...] Community survey delivers vast data in quick time  2007-10-09 06:00:00The first results from Statistics SA's massive community survey will soon be released. Key data will be made available on demographic variables, including age, sex, fertility and mortality; social variables, such as marital status, receipt of social grants, school attendance and education level; and shelter and service provision, like the type of housing and access to water, energy and sanitation of households. [Full Story...] Message to Africa: if you don't count, you don't count 2007-10-04 06:00:01 Why would the news of a population census in Sudan precipitate celebration across the continent and particularly in Statistics SA? [Full Story...] Two days of releases is worth weeks of talk, argument and analysis 2007-09-27 06:00:01 Former British prime minister Harold Wilson said: "A week is a long time in politics." In statistics, just two days can seem even longer - as demonstrated yesterday and today. [Full Story...] As the economy changes, so must CPI measurement 2007-09-13 06:00:01 No economy remains static, regardless of its performance or development trajectory. Products emerge and evolve, are withdrawn from circulation, or become redundant. New services replace older ones. [Full Story...] Data cycle provides insight into country's socioeconomic trends 2007-09-06 06:00:01 Over the past two weeks, Statistics SA has released data on a range of subjects including debt, private sector building activity, gross domestic product, the consumer and production price indices, government financial statistics, liquidations and insolvencies, tourism as well as service delivery by municipalities. [Full Story...] Baton of international leadership passes to Africa 2007-08-30 06:00:01 For the first time in its 122-year history, the International Statistics Institute (ISI) will meet in sub-Saharan Africa, when its 57th session convenes in Durban in August 2009. [Full Story...] Durban to host the World Cup of data in 2009 2007-08-16 06:00:01 It is not only in football that South Africa will be hosting a World Cup. Statistics, too, has its "World Cup". This takes the form of the 57th Session of the International Statistics Institute (ISI), which will be held in Durban in August 2009. [Full Story...] Survey points to progress in living conditions 2007-07-26 06:00:01 Data from Statistics SA's fifth annual general household survey, conducted last July, were released on Tuesday. [Full Story...] Public sector lifts capital spending by 25% to R72bn 2007-07-19 06:00:01 Each year Statistics SA conducts a survey of capital expenditure by the public sector and organises the data according to the type of expenditure and the category of the public institution spending it. [Full Story...] Survey validation is final link in collection of quality data 2007-07-12 06:00:01 The work of a statistics agency does not end when the information provided by respondents has been collected. [Full Story...] African charter paves way for professional data crunching across continent 2007-06-21 06:00:01 Africa's national statistics agencies have, at the request of their respective heads of state, recommended a draft charter on statistics for the continent. [Full Story...] Central data system allows more informed evaluation of accuracy 2007-06-14 06:00:01 Evaluating the quality of statistics is no easy matter and is often an arena of contestation. Statistics that measure progress in implementing policy, for example, are often challenged, not just because of accuracy, but because of the competing interests represented in any democratic political order. [Full Story...] Tanzania's training centre opens doors for Stats SA field workers 2007-06-07 06:00:01 Sending young South Africans to Tanzania for training in official statistics might seem a strange activity. [Full Story...] Construction nails growth record in GDP analysis 2007-05-31 06:00:01 On Tuesday, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported that seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices for the first quarter of this year increased by an annualised rate of 4.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006. [Full Story...] CPI revisions will make for a more accurate index 2007-05-24 06:00:01 When Statistics SA presented its three-year work plan to parliament's finance portfolio committee last week, I announced that the reweighted consumer price index (CPI) would first be published in February 2009 (for the January 2009 CPI). [Full Story...] African GDP comparisons are hard work, but vital 2007-05-17 06:00:01 How can countries, regions, even continents, be usefully compared? [Full Story...] Employment surveys are being beefed up to serve distinct roles 2007-05-10 06:00:01 An article recently published on the Free Market Foundation's website incorrectly reported that Statistics SA was in the process of phasing out its Labour Force Survey (LFS) and replacing it with a Quarterly Employment Survey (QES). [Full Story...] If GDP is underestimated, new data will shed light 2007-05-03 06:00:01 A market research bureau has recently suggested that the level of economic activity in South Africa might have been underestimated. [Full Story...] There's more to motor trade sales than just cars 2007-04-26 06:00:01 Last week I raised a number of issues about the way statistical data are used, especially in regard to the formulation, implementation and impact monitoring of social and economic policy. In doing this, I suggested that data are most valuable when difficult questions are raised and debated as a result of careful analysis. An overview of some of the data released by Statistics SA over the past week demonstrates this well. [Full Story...] Careful reading of data makes it useful in policy 2007-04-19 06:00:01 The value of information lies in its use. This is as true for official statistics as it is for any other data. [Full Story...] Stats SA to overhaul data publications for easy access 2007-04-12 06:00:01 Public holidays and long weekends notwithstanding, the machinery of official statistics has continued producing and disseminating data required for monitoring, measuring, evaluating and planning social and economic development. [Full Story...] Data on municipalities and private industries show signs of growth 2007-03-29 06:00:01 This week numerous headline-catching statistical series, which measure and report on key indicators, will be released. [Full Story...] Angola, Sudan, DRC to join census ranks 2007-03-22 06:00:01 In the first three months of the year, Statistics SA injected a range of critical statistical reports and series into the public and policy domain. [Full Story...] The devil of the data is always in the details 2007-03-15 06:00:01 Headlines about the economy often focus on a single number. [Full Story...] After the field work, data must be captured 2007-03-08 06:00:01 The field work for Statistics SA's massive community survey has been successfully completed and about 300 000 questionnaires are en route to the dedicated data processing centre in Pretoria. [Full Story...] The engine of data is in perpetual motion 2007-03-01 06:00:01 Releasing an average of one publication each working day, collecting information from 280 000 households in South Africa's largest sample survey, and preparing for the first labour force survey of 2007 should be enough of a challenge for any organisation. [Full Story...] 2009 stats fest worthy of its own countdown 2007-02-15 06:00:01 South Africa's preparations for the 2010 soccer World Cup are receiving considerable attention as progress in planning, infrastructure and achieving a state of readiness is monitored and debated. [Full Story...] Engine room of official statistics keeps grinding 2007-02-08 06:00:01 Yesterday witnessed the start of fieldwork for Statistics SA's pioneer community survey, with 6 000 fieldworkers beginning collection of information from 280 000 households across the nine provinces and 283 local authorities. [Full Story...] Field workers are ready to tackle community survey 2007-02-01 06:00:01 In just under a week, 6 000 field workers from Statistics South Africa, using more than 1 800 vehicles, will fan out over the country and collect information on 280 000 households. [Full Story...] African nations urged to count all residents by 2014 2007-01-25 06:00:01 Until recently, population censuses in Africa had fallen on hard times. They were characterised by irregularity, incompleteness and inaccuracy. [Full Story...] Massive community survey will help gauge development progress 2007-01-18 06:00:01 Just under a year ago, finance minister Trevor Manuel opened the 2006 African Symposium on Statistical Development in Cape Town. [Full Story...] Careful checking makes sure statistics don't mislead 2006-11-30 06:00:01 Statistics, especially official statistics, do not usually create headline-grabbing news. [Full Story...] Indices must not misrepresent social reality 2006-11-23 06:00:01 Statistical indicators, compiled both by transnational agencies such as the UN and by national statistical agencies, provide the basis for comparison between countries. [Full Story...] As with barking dogs, statisticians must watch their indicators 2006-11-16 06:00:01 When I was a young child in rural Lesotho, my elders often warned me to be careful of barking dogs. This was not, as you might expect, because barking dogs could become dangerous, could attack or even savage children in the fields and villages. It was because of the importance of interpreting what the barking of dogs signified. [Full Story...] Parity is essential to the measure of development 2006-11-09 06:00:01 Measuring human development is a complicated and sometimes controversial activity. It involves some notion of comparability between different countries, using a range of indicators of development. [Full Story...] Stats in Brief can give you an edge around the dinner table 2006-11-02 06:00:01 Many South Africans are regular users of official statistics - sometimes without even realising this! [Full Story...] Data comparison over time is central to official statistics 2006-10-26 06:00:01 Official statistics generally measure more than one data point in time, rather than presenting a single number or percentage. [Full Story...] Data management reflects advances in quality 2006-10-19 06:00:01 The collection of South Africa's official statistics is guided by a number of different processes that, when combined, form an ongoing value chain underlying statistical production. This includes: [Full Story...] For the Record 2006-10-13 06:00:01 Yesterday Inside Statistics said that the labour force survey was limited to small-scale and informal agriculture, due to an editing error. [Full Story...] |
