On Tuesday the finance minister launched a new Statistics SA report, Achieving a Better Life for All, drawing on census data from 1996 and 2001, and illustrating through detailed statistics where achievements were evident, and where much remained to be done.
According to the report, education has improved in terms of school attendance and higher qualifications, but the lack of capacity of teachers to teach effectively may be contributing to the relatively slow movement of learners through the system.
The relatively small number of people with 12 years of education and post-school qualifications also suggests that the supply of skills for a modern economy is a concern.
There was an improvement in access to education between censuses. Of people older than 19, larger numbers and larger proportions had some secondary education; larger numbers and proportions completed secondary school; and larger numbers and proportions attained tertiary qualifications.
The overwhelming majority of children aged between seven and 15 were attending school in 2001, but there was a trend for children to enter and leave educational institutions at a younger age in 2001.
The report reveals that the population growth rate has been declining while household formation has been accelerating, with vast policy implications. The population grew at about 2 percent a year, while households increased by 4 percent a year, a key factor in demand for housing, with 22 percent more households in 2001 than in 1996.
The provincial distribution of households also changed between censuses. In general, the number of people per household decreased across all provinces.
The proportion of households living in formal dwellings rose from 58.1 percent to 63.8 percent. There was a corresponding decrease in the proportion of households living in traditional dwellings, while the proportion living in informal dwellings stayed just above 16 percent.
New jobs were created in the formal sector but not fast enough to keep pace with the number of young people entering the labour market on an annual basis.
The distribution of the population by age and sex continues to resemble that of a developing country, while the use of electricity as the main energy source increased to above 50 percent and the proportion of households using piped water or taps increased from 81.5 percent to 85.2 percent.
The report provides a glimpse of the value of the data holdings that Stats SA has accumulated in the past 10 years, and how these data can be mined and analysed to obtain crucial information.
To download a copy of the report, click here.