ISIbalo Data Portal

Policies and Frameworks

The entire process of official statistics is guided by various legislative frameworks. The following legislative frameworks affects the dissemination of electronic data products directly.

The Statistics Act provide for a Statistician-General as head of Statistics South Africa, who is responsible for the collection, production and dissemination of official and other statistics, including the conducting of a census of the population, and for co-ordination among producers of statistics; to establish a Statistics Council and provide for its functions; to repeal certain legislation; and to provide for connected matters. To access the Statistics Act follow the links below:

• The Statistics Act No.6. 1999 and;
• The Statistics Act No.6. 1999 (Amendment 2024).

Publication of data fulfils Section 7(1)(e)(iii) of the Stats Act stipulating the duties and powers of the Statistician General particulartly that of determining the manner in which data are processed, documented and stored.

In its endeavour to fulfill the purpose of providing users with quality information, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has adopted the ten principles developed by the Economics and Social Council Statistical Commission of the United Nations: To access the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics follow the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.

The main purpose of SASQAF is to provide a flexible structure for the assessment of statistical products and to enable certification of statistics as official. SASQAF can be used for self-assessment by producers of statyistics; reviews performed by a Data Quality Assessment Team (DQAT) for certification purposes; assessment bydata users based on the producing agency's quality declaration; assessment by internation organisations, again based on the quality declarations. To access the document follow the South African Statistical Quality Assessment Framework.

This policy intends to guide, govern and protect the use of Stats SA’s information and data on: What data can be published, access to unpublished data, and ownership of products developed from unpublished data. To access the policy follow the Publication and Data Access Policy.

The publication policy guideline document provides guidence on the implementation of the following areas areas. Determination of publishable data items, access to unpublished data, classification of Publications, and other incidental items. To access the policy gudelines follow the Publication and Data Access Policy - Guidelines.