The population of South Africa in 1904 was 5.1 million.By 1946 it had grown to 11.4 million, and to 23.3 by 1985. The latest estimate is 50.0 million. (StatSA P0302 (2010) and SA Statistics 2006)

This week’s theme: SA then and now

In September 2001 there were 5.3 million workers employed in the formal private sector. In Q2 2010 there were over 7.3 million wokers employed by the formal private sector. (LFS 2001, QLFS 2010 Q2)

This week’s theme: SA then and now

In 2000 there were just under 4.5 million South African adults who had access to a cell phone. In 2009 this had reached almost 22 million. (AMPS2000, 2009)

This week’s theme: SA then and now

The prevalence of HIV in South Africa is 181 per 1,000 adults aged 15-49 years. The African average is 49 per 1,000 and the global average is 8 per 1,000. (World Health Organization)

This week’s theme: SA vs. the rest

South Africa is ranked 108 in terms of per capita consumption of coffee (0.4 kg per year). The top three ranked countries are Finland, Norway and Iceland (12.0 kg, 9.9 kg and 9.0 kg respectively). (http://bit.ly/dc0Oew)

This week’s theme: SA vs. the rest

70% of South Africa’s development assistance goes towards its fellow Southern African Development Community (SADC) states. (The Data Report 2010)

This week’s theme: SA vs. the rest

South Africa lost 1.9 million working days due to strikes in 2009. That’s more than France, Spain, Britain, Ireland, Australia, Germany and the USA. Canada lost 2.2 million work days. (http://bit.ly/9un37t)

This week’s theme: SA vs. the rest

South Africa produced 6.1 million carats of diamonds in 2009. Bostwana produced 17.7 million carats over the same period (Kimberly Process, bit.ly/dcDOR9)

This week’s theme: SA vs. the rest

46% of South African adults employed in the public sector have a tertiary or other post matric education. For those in the private sector the proportion is 18%. (AMPS2009B)

This week’s theme: Public servants

Outstanding debt of R800m by government departments owed to the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) in South Africa has resulted in a warning of service cut-off. This figure represents about a fifth of the organisation’s R4bn annual revenue. (http://bit.ly/aiCbbk)

This week’s theme: Public servants