2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
All time
30 days
Worst facts
1. Rating: 3.77 Number of cell phone users
There are 10.2 million adults who own cell phones in South Africa (33%). 85% of these are pre-paid (AMPS2004) (2005-10-10)
2. Rating: 3.69 Total population of South Africa
The total population of South Africa at September 2004 was 46.5 million (up from 44.8 million in 2001). 36.8 million are black, 4.4 million white, 4.12 million coloured and 1.2 million Indian/Asian (Labour Force Survey 2004, Census 2001) (2005-09-26)
3. Rating: 3.55 Confidence in politicians
99% of black South Africans have at least some confidence in Nelson Mandela, compared to 92% for whites. Thabo Mbeki is not as highly regarded as Nelson Mandela (blacks 95%, whites 71%). Tony Leon is not as popular with the black population (only 25% have at least some confidence in Tony Leon, versus whites at 81%). (FutureFact 2004) (2005-10-19)
4. Rating: 3.55 Women heading households
24% of South African households are headed up by women. For the Black population more than 40% of households are headed up by women. (StatsSA 'Women and Men in South Africa', 2002) (2005-11-08)
5. Rating: 3.44 Women and work
33% of people who invest on the JSE are women (AMPS2004) (2005-11-07)
6. Rating: 3.43 High income earners by race
While one quarter of high income earners (defined as earning more than R6,000 per month) were black in 2001, almost one third of high income earners were black in 2004 (Labour Force Survey 2004) (2005-11-14)
7. Rating: 3.27 Cell phone usage
According to AMPS2005 41% of adults in South Africa use a cell phone. On average, people spend 3% of their incomes on cell phones. (AMPS) (2005-11-30)
8. Rating: 3.08 Cell phone spend
The average monthly spend on pre-paid cell phones is approximately R95. Contract subscribers spend an average of R390 per month (AMPS2004) (2005-10-11)
9. Rating: 3.08 Self-employment
There are almost 1.9 million self-employed people in South Africa. 68% work in the informal sector (Labour Force Survey 2004) (2005-10-27)
10. Rating: 3.00 Payment for homes
39% of home owners inherited their homes. 15% said that someone else paid, and 12% used mortgage bond finance. Other responses were: with money saved, with a government grant, proceeds from sale of another property. (Finscope 2005) (2005-11-04)
1. Rating: 3.96 She's all that
There is no statistically significant difference in happiness between single men and single women, but married women are statistically happier than married men. (Source: The Eighty20 Spring Happiness Checkup) (2006-10-27)
2. Rating: 3.95 Modern day slavery…
Of the estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls, and up to 50 percent are minors. Most of these are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. (U.S. State Department) (2006-11-08)
3. Rating: 3.89 All connected?
Lie, damned lie, or statistic? Roughly two thirds of adults in South Africa have access to either a cell phone or a land line at home, or both. (2006-03-30)
4. Rating: 3.86 PS: did you know this?
The most popular chocolate bar in South Africa is Cadbury's P.S., with 14% of adults having had one in the past seven days. Lunch Bar and Kit-Kat are close behind. (AMPS2006A) (2006-10-09)
5. Rating: 3.85 Time to focus on quality
The proportion of South African adults with a matric has increased from 25% in 1996 to 35% in 2006. The proportion of adults with no schooling has halved to 6% over the same period. (AMPS2006A) (2006-09-26)
6. Rating: 3.85 Happily ever after?
Marital status has a statistically significant effect on happiness, with widows/widowers and married people happiest. (Source: The Eighty20 Spring Happiness Checkup) (2006-10-23)
7. Rating: 3.82 English at home
82% of South Africa's new black middle class have kids who speak English fluently at home. (Black Diamond 2006) (2006-02-23)
8. Rating: 3.80 A tax on the stupid
42% of men and 27% of women have bought lottery tickets in the past 4 weeks. (AMPS2006A) (2006-09-29)
9. Rating: 3.73 Legislation and the environment
More South Africans feel laws to protect the environment are a good idea (92%), than think the Constitution of South Africa is a good idea (83%). (FutureFact2004) (2006-06-08)
10. Rating: 3.67 Newspaper readership by household income
The average monthly household income of Business Day readers is over R18,000. For the Mail and Guardian, it is a little over R14,000. All other newspapers have lower average monthly household incomes. (AMPS2005A) (2006-01-25)
1. Rating: 4.21 Coughing up
There are 7.2 million smokers in South Africa, smoking a total of over 60 million cigarettes per day. At an additional tax of 60c per pack, this will bring in another R1.9 million in tax revenue every day. (AMPS2006A, 2007 Budget) (2007-02-26)
2. Rating: 4.15 Talking it up. Shareholders too
About R260 million is spent on cell phone expenses each month by people with a monthly household income of R1,600 or less. (AMPS2006A) (2007-03-29)
3. Rating: 4.07 A woman needs a (jobless) man like a fish needs a bicycle
50% of women in South Africa with babies under the age of 2 are single (never married and not living together) (AMPS2006A) (2007-07-09)
4. Rating: 4.03 Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise
Average life expectancy in South Africa is now 54 years - without AIDS, it is estimated that it would be 64. Over half of 15 year olds are not expected to reach the age of 60. (http://www.avert.org) (2007-11-30)
5. Rating: 4.01 Who's a chatterbox?
The average monthly cellphone bill is about R178 for men, almost 46% higher than that of women. (AMPS2006A) (2007-04-04)
6. Rating: 4.00 Gospel generation
57% of South Africans between the ages of 20 and 24 listen to gospel music. For older South Africans, the figure is 63%. (AMPS2006A) (2007-06-27)
7. Rating: 4.00 More for yourself
The average earnings of a Cell C subscriber is about R3,200 per month, higher than those of MTN and Vodacom (AMPS2006A) (2007-04-03)
8. Rating: 3.98 Knowing me, knowing you
Of sexually active South African youths, 6% say they have had unprotected sex with someone they think is HIV positive. A further 15% are unsure. (Source: Young South Africans, Broadcast Media, and HIV/AIDS Awareness, Kaiser Family Foundation and SABC, 2006) (2007-04-18)
9. Rating: 3.91 A striking result
The average earnings of government workers in the community, social and personal services industries (89% of the workers) is around R5,800 per month. For private sector workers in those industries it is about R4,900. (Labour Force Survey 2006) (2007-06-08)
10. Rating: 3.86 2 out of 3
There are 4 million economically active South Africans aged 15 to 24. 2.6 million (64%) of them are unemployed (using the expanded definition of unemployment). (LFS 2006) (2007-11-13)
1. Rating: 4.12 Home alone
28% of women (16+) are single parents. Of this segment, 50% are unemployed (AMPS2007) (2008-02-05)
2. Rating: 4.08 'Hello' the future
68% of African language speakers would prefer their children to be educated in English (FutureFact 2007) (2008-06-17)
3. Rating: 4.07 Just coping fine
72% of the population purport to possibly vote for a viable opposition if there was one (66% of blacks). This was pre the existence of Cope. (FutureFact 2008) (2008-12-01)
4. Rating: 4.07 Taking care of the future
The proportion of South African children under the age of 5 attending a pre-school increased from 7.6% in 2002 to 16.6% in 2007 (GHS 2007) (2008-11-04)
5. Rating: 4.01 Tito'ing on the edge
The prime interest rate has increased from 11% to 15.5% in past two years (June 2006 to June 2008). The monthly installment for a R500,000 bond taken in June 2006 would have increased from R5,161 to R6,724 over the same period – an increase of 30%. (SARB) (2008-06-26)
6. Rating: 4.00 Silent crime
A third of people who had something stolen from them did not report this crime to the police. (FutureFact 2008) (2008-11-26)
7. Rating: 4.00 Not even One Time
85% of South African adults have never travelled by air inside SA. 93% have never travelled by air outside SA. (AMPS2008A) (2008-12-10)
8. Rating: 3.97 Please sir, I want some more
The proportion of South African children suffering from hunger (defined as often or always hungry in past 12 months) decreased from 6.7% in 2002 to 2.0% in 2007. (GHS 2007) (2008-11-03)
9. Rating: 3.97 The fairer sex?
79% of South African men agree with the statement 'The death penalty should be reinstated in South Africa for serious crimes like murder and rape'. 83% of women also agree. (AMPS2008A) (2008-10-03)
10. Rating: 3.94 WWWOW
2.4 million South African adults accessed the internet in the past 7 days, an increase of 30% over a year ago. (AMPS2007, 2008) (2008-09-22)
1. Rating: 4.29 Friendly reminder
Leaving the car windows open while driving creates a drag that increases fuel consumption by as much as 20 percent. (Department of Minerals and Energy website) (2009-12-11)
2. Rating: 4.26 Clear-cut?
South Africa ranks second in the world (tying with France) in terms of budget transparency, behind only the United Kingdom. (Open Budget Index 2008) (2009-07-21)
3. Rating: 4.21 1994 vs 2009
81% of South African adults voted in the 1994 national elections. For the 2009 elections the figure is roughly 59%. (StatsSA, IEC) (2009-04-28)
4. Rating: 4.20 Sick statistics
Sub-Saharan Africa has 24% of the worldwide disease burden, yet it has only 3% of the world's health workers. (The DATA Report 2008) (2009-03-12)
5. Rating: 4.19 Double story
Over the period 1997-2008, house prices in South Africa increased by 389%. In Australia, the figure is 163%. (www.economist.com) (2009-04-09)
6. Rating: 4.17 Bank on it
Banking penetration in South Africa has increased from 45% of the adult population in 2004 to 63% in 2008. (FinScope, various years) (2009-10-05)
7. Rating: 4.14 Every second counts II
76% of urban adults who do not receive an income say they personally own, rent or have use of a cellphone. (FutureFact 2008) (2009-06-09)
8. Rating: 4.10 Pumping
On 7 January 2009, the price of petrol dropped by 134c – 137c a litre, depending on the grade. This comes on top of a 161c cut in December and a 45c cut in November 2008. All in all, to fill up a 60 litre tank will cost about R200 less in January 2009 than it did in early November 2008. (The Times, The Wheel Deal, 3 January 2009) (2009-01-12)
9. Rating: 4.10 Often orphan
The estimated number of orphans aged 0 to 17 in South Africa due to AIDS is 1.4 million. (Epidemiological Fact Sheet on HIV/AIDS 2008) (2009-05-07)
10. Rating: 4.09 me2u
5.9 million adults send SMS's on a daily basis. 9.5 million send a 'please call me' message, and 0.6 million send MMS's (AMPS2008B RA) (2009-06-10)
1. Rating: 4.50 The good old days, still
South Africa's current mobile interconnect rate is 125c per minute, to be reduced to 89c from 1 March 2010. In 1994, it was 20c, worth about 50c in today's terms. (mybroadband.co.za, StatsSA) (2010-02-17)
2. Rating: 4.39 Read all about it
The cost of building and upgrading South Africa's ten World Cup Stadiums cost approximately R13.6 billion. Providing 19,808 government schools with a functioning library would cost R7.9 billion. (We Can't Afford Not To, www.equaleducation.org.za) (2010-03-01)
3. Rating: 4.33 Every man, woman and child?
MTN's South African subscriber base is 16.4 million, Vodacom claims 27.1 million customers, and Cell C has roughly 6.5 million. This brings the total claimed South African cell phone subscriber base to 50 million, more than the total population of South Africa, 49.1 million. (mtn-investor.com, Vodacom News Release 2 Feb 2010, www.ogertelecom.com, LFS 2009Q3) (2010-02-15)
4. Rating: 4.28 Market forces?
Superfreakonmics, the best-selling book by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (ISBN 978-0-06-088957-9) would cost you R225 at Loot.co.za, R289 at kalahari.net and R422 at Exclusive Books. If you lived in the US, you could purchase it at Amazon for $13.96, roughly R105. (Company websites). (2010-02-02)
5. Rating: 4.20 Very happy
70% of people say their quality of life in SA is much better than it would be elsewhere (50% feel this strongly). (FutureFact 2009) (2010-02-24)
6. Rating: 4.20 Collusion?
The cost of the cheapest one-way economy class flight from Cape Town to Joburg on the 9th of July 2010 (just before the World Cup final) is R769 on Kulula, R882 on SAA, R1263 on Mango, R2299 on 1Time and R4929 on BA. (Airline websites, 31 Jan 2010). (2010-02-01)
7. Rating: 4.19 Truly Budget
At Europcar, a group C rental car (VW Polo, Toyota Corolla or similar) would cost you R743 for this coming weekend, February 6th to 8th. On the weekend of the World Cup finals (July 10th to 12th), the same car would cost you R1369. At Budget, the costs would be R600, for either weekend. (Company websites) (2010-02-03)
8. Rating: 4.17 Wanted: Role models
There are 15.4 million children (aged 0 to 17) whose fathers are currently alive. 54% of them say their father is not part of their household. (GHS 2008) (2010-02-12)
9. Rating: 4.12 vodacom4me
The average revenue per user (ARPU) of Vodacom customers is R140 per month. Thus 7,143 customers are required to fund Alan Knott-Craig's R1 million per month post-retirement retainer. (Vodacom press release 2 February 2010, www.timeslive.co.za) (2010-02-19)
10. Rating: 4.10 Going down, looking up?
The number of murders in South Africa has declined by 30% from 1994/5 to 2008/9, and the murder rate per 100,000 people has declined by 44%. (SAIRR, Press Release 2/12/2009) (2010-01-25)
1. Rating: 4.50 The good old days, still
South Africa's current mobile interconnect rate is 125c per minute, to be reduced to 89c from 1 March 2010. In 1994, it was 20c, worth about 50c in today's terms. (mybroadband.co.za, StatsSA) (2010-02-17)
2. Rating: 4.39 Read all about it
The cost of building and upgrading South Africa's ten World Cup Stadiums cost approximately R13.6 billion. Providing 19,808 government schools with a functioning library would cost R7.9 billion. (We Can't Afford Not To, www.equaleducation.org.za) (2010-03-01)
3. Rating: 4.33 Every man, woman and child?
MTN's South African subscriber base is 16.4 million, Vodacom claims 27.1 million customers, and Cell C has roughly 6.5 million. This brings the total claimed South African cell phone subscriber base to 50 million, more than the total population of South Africa, 49.1 million. (mtn-investor.com, Vodacom News Release 2 Feb 2010, www.ogertelecom.com, LFS 2009Q3) (2010-02-15)
4. Rating: 4.29 Friendly reminder
Leaving the car windows open while driving creates a drag that increases fuel consumption by as much as 20 percent. (Department of Minerals and Energy website) (2009-12-11)
5. Rating: 4.28 Market forces?
Superfreakonmics, the best-selling book by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (ISBN 978-0-06-088957-9) would cost you R225 at Loot.co.za, R289 at kalahari.net and R422 at Exclusive Books. If you lived in the US, you could purchase it at Amazon for $13.96, roughly R105. (Company websites). (2010-02-02)
6. Rating: 4.26 Clear-cut?
South Africa ranks second in the world (tying with France) in terms of budget transparency, behind only the United Kingdom. (Open Budget Index 2008) (2009-07-21)
7. Rating: 4.21 1994 vs 2009
81% of South African adults voted in the 1994 national elections. For the 2009 elections the figure is roughly 59%. (StatsSA, IEC) (2009-04-28)
8. Rating: 4.21 Coughing up
There are 7.2 million smokers in South Africa, smoking a total of over 60 million cigarettes per day. At an additional tax of 60c per pack, this will bring in another R1.9 million in tax revenue every day. (AMPS2006A, 2007 Budget) (2007-02-26)
9. Rating: 4.20 Sick statistics
Sub-Saharan Africa has 24% of the worldwide disease burden, yet it has only 3% of the world's health workers. (The DATA Report 2008) (2009-03-12)
10. Rating: 4.20 Very happy
70% of people say their quality of life in SA is much better than it would be elsewhere (50% feel this strongly). (FutureFact 2009) (2010-02-24)
1. Rating: 1.85 Neither high nor low
South Africa's Rigidity of employment index (0 least rigid to 100 most rigid), in 2006 was 41. Lowest was Uganda at 7, and joint highest were Guinea-Bissau and Niger, at 77 each. (African Development Indicators, 2007, World Bank) (2007-12-05)
2. Rating: 1.92 Guilty free pleasure
8% of people in LSM 4-7 who do not attend the gym/health club at all buy food from a fast food outlet more than once a week. 21% of people in LSM 4-7 who attend a gym/health club weekly buy food from a fast food outlet.(AMPS2007B) (2008-04-22)
3. Rating: 1.97 Life after death
53% of single people identify with people who go to lots of parties. For married people the proportion is 41%, and 45% for widowed people. (AMPS2007B) (2008-04-04)
4. Rating: 2.10 5/10
327,000 adults say that they have participated in gymnastics in the past 12 months. The majority, 54%, are male (NB. The gender split across the total adult population is 50/50). (AMPS2007B RA) (2008-07-29)
5. Rating: 2.11 Lookin' good
Are you a 25-34 year old South African man who speaks Zulu at home that likes to dress well? You are one of 819,651 people in this country! (AMPS2009A) (2009-11-19)
6. Rating: 2.12 Recipe for success
14.6% of women bake for pleasure. (Source: AMPS2007B) (2008-08-07)
7. Rating: 2.24 A Loan from your uncle
16% of households have an outstanding loan from a furniture retailer in 2006, up from 9% in 2000. (IES 2005/6, 2000) (2008-08-15)
8. Rating: 2.24 What are you saving for
The highest correlation score of financial products for Chesterfield cigarette smokers was a retirement annuity product; the actual proportion was 19% compared to 6% for all adults. (Source: AMPS2007B) (2008-07-18)
9. Rating: 2.30 We're hot
The forecast maximum temperatures for Cape Town for Monday to Thursday this week are 23, 27, 25 and 22 degrees Celsius respectively. For London they are 11, 8, 5 and 8. (BBC Weather Service, 2008-10-26) (2008-10-27)
10. Rating: 2.36 Books at a steal
A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited about Obama and Why He Can't Win by Shelby Steele (hardcover) sells for $14.96 (R150 at current exchange rates) on Amazon and R278.30 on Kalahari. (2008-11-11)
1. Rating: 4.50 The good old days, still
South Africa's current mobile interconnect rate is 125c per minute, to be reduced to 89c from 1 March 2010. In 1994, it was 20c, worth about 50c in today's terms. (mybroadband.co.za, StatsSA) (2010-02-17)
2. Rating: 4.39 Read all about it
The cost of building and upgrading South Africa's ten World Cup Stadiums cost approximately R13.6 billion. Providing 19,808 government schools with a functioning library would cost R7.9 billion. (We Can't Afford Not To, www.equaleducation.org.za) (2010-03-01)
3. Rating: 4.33 Every man, woman and child?
MTN's South African subscriber base is 16.4 million, Vodacom claims 27.1 million customers, and Cell C has roughly 6.5 million. This brings the total claimed South African cell phone subscriber base to 50 million, more than the total population of South Africa, 49.1 million. (mtn-investor.com, Vodacom News Release 2 Feb 2010, www.ogertelecom.com, LFS 2009Q3) (2010-02-15)
4. Rating: 4.20 Very happy
70% of people say their quality of life in SA is much better than it would be elsewhere (50% feel this strongly). (FutureFact 2009) (2010-02-24)
5. Rating: 4.17 Wanted: Role models
There are 15.4 million children (aged 0 to 17) whose fathers are currently alive. 54% of them say their father is not part of their household. (GHS 2008) (2010-02-12)
6. Rating: 4.12 vodacom4me
The average revenue per user (ARPU) of Vodacom customers is R140 per month. Thus 7,143 customers are required to fund Alan Knott-Craig's R1 million per month post-retirement retainer. (Vodacom press release 2 February 2010, www.timeslive.co.za) (2010-02-19)
7. Rating: 4.09 The good old days, still
South Africa's current mobile interconnect rate is 125c per minute, to be reduced to 89c from 1 March 2010. In 1994, it was 20c, worth about 50c in today's terms. (mybroadband.co.za, StatsSA) (2010-02-16)
8. Rating: 3.84 Wedding race
61% of white South African adults are married or living together. For black South Africans this proportion is 30%. (AMPS2009A) (2010-02-11)
9. Rating: 3.81 Bullet train
South Africa's first rapid railway, the Gautrain, comes at a cost of R25 billion. South Africa's military expenditure for 2010/11 is expected to be R31 billion. (www.treasury.gov.za, www.gautrain.co.za) (2010-03-04)
10. Rating: 3.78 I now pronounce you, ...
In 2008, there were 186,522 civil marriages, 16,003 customary marriages, and 732 civil unions. In 2007 there were 80 civil unions. (StatsSA Marriages and Divorces, 2008) (2010-02-10)
Rating Instructions
Only Fact-a-Day subscriber's can rate facts. If you've already subscribed, click the link in your daily (or welcome) Fact-a-Day email.
Not yet a subscriber?
Subscribe to the Fact-a-Day service and enjoy (and rate) an interesting fact about South African consumers each day, delivered to your inbox.
