STATISTICS AS A COMPASS FOR AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT FUTURE

By Cuma Pantshwa.

•⁠ ⁠Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke underscored the independence and integrity of statistics, urging that data remain free from political or commercial influence.
•⁠ ⁠Stark figures on teenage pregnancies revealed the human face of statistics, while confidentiality and accountability were emphasized as non-negotiable principles.
•⁠ ⁠Maluleke challenged young scholars to use available datasets to drive research and ensure that development planning, from local to continental level, is rooted in coherent evidence.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the Population Association of Southern Africa (PASA) Conference 2025, Statistician-General of South Africa, Mr Risenga Maluleke, made a passionate case for the independence of statistics and their centrality to sustainable development. He stressed that statistics must remain independent, transparent, and subject to scrutiny. “We don’t start with the number we want; we start with the method. If it cannot be explained, it cannot be official,” he said.

Referring to the African Charter on Statistics and the UN Fundamental Principles, he reminded delegates that data must be released equally to all, without fear or favour. Even when results are uncomfortable, he added, transparency is essential. Citing the 31% undercount in the 2022 Census, he explained that Stats SA published the results alongside the undercount as an act of accountability.

The invisibility of lives and the power of memory

Drawing on novelist Ben Okri, Maluleke reminded delegates that many lives are undocumented, yet they are “remembered because they lived.” He urged demographers to capture Africa’s untold stories with rigour and compassion, ensuring that the “invisible” are not erased from history.

Teenage pregnancies and the confidentiality of data

Maluleke presented startling new data: in 2023, Home Affairs recorded births registered by one 10-year-old mother, three aged 11, 27 aged 12, 301 aged 13, and 1,797 aged 14. While these figures shocked the audience, he firmly reiterated that confidentiality in official statistics is non-negotiable: no personal details will ever be released, regardless of public or media pressure.

From life to death: measuring South Africa’s 63 million

South Africa’s population stood at 63 million on 1 July 2025, with Gauteng accounting for 25.5% (16.1 million), followed by KwaZulu-Natal (12.2 million). Maluleke described Stats SA’s mandate as one that follows individuals “from life to death,” from birth registration to school, employment, marriage, divorce, and ultimately death. “We do not bear emotions, but we bear responsibility for the integrity of numbers,” he remarked.
He further called on young scholars to actively use anonymised datasets. Without critical engagement from the academic community, he cautioned, areas of improvement in statistical practice risk being overlooked.
“Go and write your papers. Take us to task. If you don’t write, if you don’t raise issues, we will never know what to improve – not just for South Africa, but for the world.”

A vision for development

Linking numbers to broader development frameworks, Maluleke stressed the importance of consistency:

“From municipal IDPs to the National Development Plan, to SADC and Agenda 2063, we must use the same numbers. They may be disaggregated for local realities, but they must be coherent across levels. Only then can we ensure that development planning is evidence-based.”

As he closed, Maluleke returned to the theme of dignity and remembrance, recalling the invisibility of his own mother’s generation, who could not read or write but whose lives must not be forgotten.

“Statistics may begin as questionable, then become acceptable, but they are only official when they are quality statistics. Evidence is our safeguard against ideology, anecdotes and arbitrariness. If we do not tell our story with numbers, others will tell it for us.”