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Relaxed: Police Minister Bheki Cele. (David Harrison)

Western Cape is a priority, says Police Minister Bheki Cele

The police arrested three people and killed four others suspected of cash-in-transit heists

Economists widely expect the South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee to once again hold the interest rate at 8.25% when it concludes its meeting on Thursday.

Reserve Bank may hike interest rates by 50 bps on Thursday

This week a spotlight is shone on a potential interest rate hike, inflation statistics and retail trade sales

About 32%  of the population is unemployed; of the employed, 35.9% are in informal work; and of the formally employed, nearly 40% earn less than R3,500 a month. Photo: Phill Magakoe/AFP

Jobless crisis: 35 in 100 are out of work

It’s not sustainable for every employed person to support three others, analysts say

Police Minister Bheki Cele. Photo: Supplied

Almost 10 000 rapes occurred in July, August and September, quarterly crime stats show

In the three-month period 6 163 murders occurred, a 20.7% increase from the same period last year, and 9 556 rapes were reported, a rise of 7.1%. The number of sexual offences…

Risenga Maluleke, Statistician-General at Statistics South Africa

Stats SA ‘throttled’ by budget cuts, requires extra funding to combat brain drain

The portfolio committee on public service and administration says it will call for additional funding so Stats SA can render its services effectively

Along with the benefit of spending regular time with your children, this activity supports healthy brain development. (Oupa Nkosi/M&G)

Every child deserves to be read aloud to

Of paramount importance is the enjoyment of reading, a responsibility that not only rests on the shoulders of educators, but also of parents

Toll: South Sudan rebels carry an injured comrade after a 2017 assault on government soldiers. Accurate statistics are hard to come by in places fraught with disasters and crises. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

382 900: South Sudan and the science of measuring the dead

The death toll from South Sudan’s civil war is nearly eight times higher than previously thought

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Dlamini-Zuma: SA needs credible stats for a better life for all

Dlamini-Zuma says it is important to ensure the work of StatsSA remains relevant, and that policymakers and implementers use the data

Former Australian captain Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann

Letters to the editor: February 17 to 23 2017

Readers write in about maths and science, and dignity and ubuntu.

Ally: Donald Trump’s Saudi trip may have implied his support for the Qatar blockade.

Lesbian activist’s murder puts spotlight on hate crime; shocking new statistics

Victims are wary of going to the police as they often compound the trauma, research has found.

How to win – without the ball

Super Rugby stats provide an eye-opener but, then again, they are a poor predictor of the future.

A decrease in South Africa’s overall mortality rate has been linked to the public sector’s HIV treatment programme.

Editorial: The good news on death stats

South Africa has one of the fastest-growing diabetes epidemics in the world. But HIV and Aids are reported more truthfully nowadays.

The stats tell stories that are probably best ignored

Statistics offer us a glimpse into the space between reality and history, and, as is well known, those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

Why it is wrong to call SA (or any country) the ‘rape capital of the world’

Where is the "rape capital of the world"? Is it SA or the Democratic Republic of Congo? What does the phrase even mean? Africa Check investigates.

African librarians need data skills to make the transition to open access.

SA’s maths and science: When are stats not stats?

Reading statistics incorrectly, especially those touted as education statistics, means everyone is left with egg on their faces.