Report Claims Stats SA’s R2.3 Billion Census 2022 Has Unusable Data

• Census 2022 cost taxpayers R2.3 billion and took place during the Covid-19 epidemic
• Statistics South Africa has admitted that some of the most crucial data captured is not of good quality and, therefore, results are useless
• A Census 2022 in Brief document was published this week, which includes exclusions in the introduction

Stats SA released a document stating that some of the most important and valuable data in the Census 2022 report is worthless.

Demographers have questioned the accuracy of the Census 2022 results, particularly for metropolitan populations, leading to widespread criticism.

Census 2022 in Brief can be downloaded directly on the Stats SA website. Below is an exert from the report:

"Based on census data quality evaluation exercises undertaken by Stats SA subject matter specialists and Census 2022 technical experts on various themes, the following variables/themes will not be published and are therefore not part of this report."

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The following sections of the report are unusable:

1. Income and earning
2. Labour and employment
3. Mortality and fertility

Key takeaways and what you need to know

• Data quality concerns: Stats SA acknowledges that the Census 2022 data on income, employment, mortality and fertility is too flawed for public release.
• Significant undercount: A 30% undercount and errors in the post-enumeration survey have rendered the data unusable, resulting in a R2.3 billion loss to taxpayers.
• Budgetary implications: The absence of reliable income data disrupts Treasury’s resource allocation, complicating National Budget decisions.
• Health risks: Incomplete mortality and fertility data impede health planning and the assessment of critical programmes like childhood immunisation.

Demographers have questioned the accuracy of Census 2022 results, particularly for metropolitan populations, leading to widespread criticism.

Tom Moultrie, a demography professor at the University of Cape Town, commented on Good Morning Cape Town:

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"As of two days ago, we found that a whole lot of really important data is not going to be released, and this adds to our concerns about the validity and the reliability of the census numbers."

Stats SA reveals the average salary

Briefly News reported in a related article that Stats SA has published its quarterly employment survey, revealing the average salary earned by South Africans in the first quarter of 2023. The data shows that the average monthly income stands at R25,304, marking an increase from the same period in 2022.

According to data from UCT, the typical formally employed non-agricultural worker in South Africa is considered part of the middle class.

Source: Briefly News