The most common statistic to which findings are related to is the population.
Data is much easier to understand when dealing with actual numbers rather than ratios. For example statisticians will say something along the lines of 2 in 10 people in South Africa are infected with the HIV virus. This does not mean much until one applies the ratio to the population of the country. The population of South Africa is estimated at 47 million, hence 2 in 10 roughly means a possible 9.4 million people are infected with the HIV virus.
Race dominates many discussions in South Africa. Many other statistics will be compared to the number of black people. Often politicians state that 80% of the economy is controlled by 10% of the population. For once the politicians are right when quoting the population breakdown. Below is the racial breakdown of the population.
An interesting point on population covered is the migration of individuals. Some provinces are losing people and one wonders whether it is skilled on unskilled individuals. Gauteng seems the most attractive province to which to move.
Finally the number of immigrants in South Africa is something that must be factored in the population. Many different publications quote different figures. The numbers range from several hundred thousand to 3 million. The latter being pretty significant.
