BIEMANN
South Africa's biggest challenges, in real numbers.
Jobs, prices, debt, food, electricity and schooling. Every chart here uses the latest official figures from Stats SA, the Reserve Bank, the CSIR, the Department of Basic Education and others — and every simulation lets you test what would change them.
NSC pass rate
Every dataset opens here with summary formulas already in place. Add your own: try =SLOPE(B2:B19,A2:A19) for the yearly trend, or =FORECAST(2026,B2:B19,A2:A19) for next year.
Every figure has a source and a date.
We only use figures published by the organisation that produces them: Statistics South Africa, the South African Reserve Bank, the Department of Basic Education, the CSIR, the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each chart names its source, the release it came from and the date we last checked it. Where a number is an estimate — such as load-shedding hours for 2023 — the chart says so and shows it in a lighter colour.
The simulations are simple models built for learning. They show how the pieces fit together; they are not forecasts. Spotted a newer release? Tell us and we will update it.
