The chart shows higher overall enrolment numbers in 2019 than 2018 for SET degrees at all universities, with the exception of a decline in enrolments for UKZN and UCT. The Durban University of Technology (DUT) had the highest number of new enrolments compared to the previous year, with 1,536 more students enrolled than in 2018. The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) had the highest reduction in the number of new students enrolled for SET degrees in 2019 compared to 2018, with 683 fewer new students. Overall, the University of Pretoria (UP) had the highest enrolment for SET degrees in both 2018 and 2019 with enrolment numbers of 25,841 and 25,866 , respectively.
The chart above shows the number of students who graduated from SET degrees in 2017, 2018 and 2019 for selected universities. DUT had the greatest increase in graduations in 2019, when compared to 2018. UP had the highest total number of students who graduated from SET degrees in 2019 (5,451), followed by Wits (4,143) and then DUT (3,726).
The University of South Africa (UNISA) maintained its number one position in terms of enrollment in 2019, while UP dropped to third place. Wits and UKZN also maintained their rankings in the fourth and fifth position, respectively. Durban University of Technology (DUT), Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) and UniZulu all improved their rankings from 2018 - 2019. In terms of graduates, UP dropped to second place in 2019. Improvement in overall rankings can be seen for DUT which moved from ninth to sixth place, Wits which moved from fifth to fourth place, and UniZulu which moved from twenty-third to twenty-first place. UKZN fell to ninth position in 2019 from seventh position in 2018, while UP was knocked off from first position to second. UNISA experienced the biggest fall, from fourth place in 2018 to eighth place in 2019.
The chart above shows enrolment into doctoral degree programmes in selected universities. Doctoral degree enrolment declined at UKZN from 3,320 in 2018 to 3,303 in 2019. All other universities in the chart show higher enrolment except MUT. MUT had no Doctoral enrolments in both 2018 and 2019.
UKZN remains in first place for both doctoral degree enrolment and graduation in South Africa in 2019. DUT and UniZulu improved in the national doctoral enrolment rankings from 2018 to 2019. Rankings for doctoral degree graduations declined for DUT, UniZulu, Wits and UNISA in 2019.
The overall national rankings across 26 universities show that in 2019, UKZN remained at first place, with UP falling to third position. Wits dropped by two spots in 2019, while DUT fell by three places. UCT and MUT remained at fifth and twenty-fifth place from 2018 to 2019, respectively.
Provisional patent and Complete patent applications constitute the total local patent applications submitted. Convention patent and PCT patent applications constitute the total foreign patent applications filed. In 2019/20 the total local filings amounted to 2,205, showing a decrease compared to 2018/19 which saw a total of 2,393 local applications. Conversely, foreign applications for patents have risen between 2018/19 and 2019/20. Local applications remain significantly lower than foreign applications. In 2019/20, foreign patent applications totalled 6,250 whereas local patent applications were 2,205.
In 2018/19, GERD as a percentage of GDP was highest in the Western Cape at 1.23%, however this is a decrease of 0.18% from the previous year. Gauteng follows with 0.9% in 2018/19, which is a decline of 0.14% from 2017/18. In third place is the Northern Cape, which in 2018/19 had GERD as a percentage of GDP at 0.88%, indicating a 0.30% increase from the previous year. KZN GERD as a percentage of GDP was 0.50% in 2018/19, a decrease of 0.04% from 2017/18.
R&D expenditure in value (Rands) for each province from 2008/9 to 2018/19. Gauteng R&D expenditure showed an overall upward trend until 2018/19, when it declined for the first time since 2011/12. Nonetheless, it remains the highest in comparison to other provinces. Gauteng R&D expenditure was R15.77 billion in 2018/19, down by 9% from 2017/18. R&D expenditure in the Western Cape is the second highest in comparison to other provinces and also shows a decrease between 2017/18 and 2018/19. Western Cape R&D expenditure was R8.51 billion in 2018/19. Only three provinces increased their rand value expenditure on R&D in 2018/19; namely Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North-West. KZN R&D expenditure was R4.07 billion in 2018/19, down by 2.4% from 2017/18.
Higher education sector contributions make up the largest share of R&D expenditure (40%), followed by the business sector (35%), the science councils sector (11%), the not-for-profit sector (8%) and lastly the government sector (6%). Only the government and higher education sectors increased the amount invested in R&D in 2018/19, while the business, not-for-profit, and science councils sectors decreased from 2017/18 to 2018/19.
The chart above shows an upward trend in the value of investments since 2013. In 2019 the total value of investments was R1,230 million which is an increase of 15.28% from 2018. More than 40% of the total investment value for 2019 went toward the manufacturing, food and beverage, business products and services, and medical devices and equipment sectors.
The chart above is a national overview of the spread of investment value according to the stage of the deal. The chart shows that in 2019, the majority of investment deals in terms of value (36.5%), went towards the start-up phase. This was followed by 30.9% share invested in the growth stage and 23.6% share in later-stage deals. The contributions for these the Startup stage of deals has declined since 2017, whereas the contributions toward the growth and later stages have grown from 2018 to 2019. The share of investments towards buyout and replacement increased in 2019, while the share of seed and rescue/turnaround declined in 2019.
The chart above shows that in 2019, the majority share of investment (value) went to investees with head offices in the Western Cape (50%). Investees with head offices in Gauteng received 41.3% of the share of investment, which is down by 1.2% from 2018. Investees with head offices in KZN received a significantly lower share of investment at 2%, which fell by 4.8% (the largest change shown) compared to the previous year.
The chart above shows the number of matriculants who passed the maths subject with a pass mark of 40% and above, between 2017 and 2020. The chart demonstrates that KZN has the highest number of maths graduates (18,869) across all three years (11% of the national pass rate in 2020). The number of students in KZN who passed maths in 2020 was 9% higher than in 2019. This trend aligns with an increased national student pass rate of 6.7% in 2020. Western Cape has the highest provincial pass rate for maths at 54.4%, despite having fewer graduates (5% of the national pass rate in 2020).
The chart above shows the number of matriculants who passed science with a pass mark of 40% and above between 2017 and 2020. As with maths, KZN has the highest number of science students (18,570 or 11% of total students who wrote in SA) in 2020. Unlike the maths statistics, the number of students who have graduated has decreased from 2019 to 2020. The general trend in pass rates shows a decline across all provinces over the two-year period. KZN performance in science is at 46%, slighlty higher than the national average of 42.4%. Western Cape obtained the highest pass rate for science in 2020, at 57.5%
The chart above shows that GP (Gauteng) TVET colleges had the highest number of students who completed N3 Engineering studies (10.685) in 2019, followed by KZN (6,970) and Limpopo (6,798). In terms of completion rate, students in Gauteng experienced the highest completion rate (71%), followed by the Western Cape (70%) and Mpumalanga (70%). The overall rate of completion declined from 2018 to 2019 across all provinces, with the greatest drop in the Northern Cape (25%).
The chart above illustrates that Gauteng, Limpopo and KZN had the highest number of students who completed N6 level Engineering Studies with 7,779, 5,431 and 4,283 students, respectively. The completion rates for N6 level in Engineering Studies was highest amongst students in Limpopo (94%), KZN (94%) and the Eastern Cape (93%), followed closely by North-West (92%) and Free State (92%). Completion rates are above 80% across all nine provinces, with seven provinces boasting rates above 90%.
Trademark applications by South African residents decreased from 2018 to 2019. In 2019, trademark applications totalled 22,003 compared to 22,948 in 2018 - showing a comparative decline of 945 applications for 2019. Trademark applications by non-residents in 2019 (16,145) fell only slightly from the previous year (16,188).
In terms of business expenditure on R&D, the chart above shows that in 2018/19 Gauteng’s BERD as a percentage of GDP was the highest at 0.44% (down from 0.50% in 2017/18), followed by the Free State at 0.39% (down from 0.45% in 2017/18) and Western Cape at 0.36% (down from 0.44% in 2017/18). The graph shows that BERD as a percentage of GDP in 2009/10 was higher than in 2018/19 for a number of provinces such as the Free State, Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN. BERD as a percentage of GDP was 0.27% for KZN in 2009/10 and has decreased to 0.18% in 2018/19.
The chart above shows that in 2019, the profile of funds that were managed by venture capitalists were made up mostly of independent funds (38.1%), followed by captive government funds (30.1%). Angel investors, who are critical for early stage investment made up 5.7% of funds. Independent funds were 3% higher in 2019 than in 2018, while captive government was 3.6% lower in 2019 than 2018.
The chart shows that, nationally, there has been an overall upward trend in the number of investments since 2010. At the end of 2019 there were 162 investment deals, up by 28 deals from 2018, which suggests increased confidence and interest in South African industries. In contrast, there was a drastic decline in the number and value of investments In KZN, with only 1 deal being concluded at the value of R4m in 2019.
The chart shows that Gauteng households have the most access to internet connectivity (74.8%), followed by the Western Cape (74.3%) and Mpumalanga (67.4%). Internet access for KZN households (55.7%) was below the national average (63.3%) in 2019. Seven of the nine provinces show a decline in internet access between 2018 and 2019, while access increased only in the Western Cape and Gauteng.
The chart above shows that from a national perspective, there is no significant difference in household internet access across metros (74.5%) and rural areas (72.4%). However, households in traditional areas and farms experience more exclusion from connectivity with 47.6% and 40.2% of households having internet access, respectively.
The table below shows the number of funding instruments that are relevant to innovators within the Innovate Durban community. The information below has been extracted from Innovate Durban’s Funding Map, which was developed in 2019. The Funding Map includes a variety of fund types such as debt funding, equity investment, grants and incubators.
The charts above show employment in the telecommunications sector between 2015 and 2020. The peak of employment in the sector was in 2018 which had a total employment of 37,063. There has been a 7.5% decline in total employment between 2019 and 2020.
The Innovation Growth Index measures the growth of key innovation indicators for the most recent years for which data is available (in this case, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019). The index requires KZN-specific data, data availability for the 2018 and 2019 years, and data that represents a raw number (as opposed to a ratio or percentage). Only indicators within the ‘people’ and ‘investment’ categories met these requirements. The two highest impact indicators from each category were selected. The few indicators used in the index are a limitation, however, the index will grow and improve as data quality and availability improves each year. The Growth Index represents the average growth of the four selected indicators. The Growth Index for 2019 (-21) shows significant decline compared to 2018 (12)..
The chart above indicates that resident patent grants and abroad grants have declined by 14% and 21% respectively from 2018 to 2019, however non-resident grants have risen by 1.4% in the same period. Overall, resident patent grants have decreased over the past 9 years, while non-resident grants have gradually risen.
In terms of business expenditure on R&D, the chart above shows that in 2018/19 Gauteng’s BERD as a percentage of GDP was the highest at 0.44% (down from 0.50% in 2017/18), followed by the Free State at 0.39% (down from 0.45% in 2017/18) and Western Cape at 0.36% (down from 0.44% in 2017/18). The graph shows that BERD as a percentage of GDP in 2009/10 was higher than in 2018/19 for a number of provinces such as the Free State, Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN. BERD as a percentage of GDP was 0.27% for KZN in 2009/10 and has decreased to 0.18% in 2018/19.
The chart above shows that the number of new company registrations in South Africa declined over the 3-year period between 2017/18 and 2019/20 (according to the CIPC register). There has been a 2.6% reduction in the registration of companies for the most recent period recorded (2019/20).
The chart above shows that the number of registered businesses with taxable earnings in South Africa has been gradually declining since 2016. There is a drop of 11% (106,785 net reduction) between 2018 and 2019. N.B. 'Years' refer to SA tax years, not calendar years. Note from Source:The number of returns expected for a particular tax year is determined by the number of companies that have been assessed for that tax year, plus the number of companies with an “active” status that were assessed in respect of either of the two tax years prior to the relevant tax year, but have not yet been assessed for the tax year in question.
The chart above shows that student completion rates in Gauteng experienced the highest completion rate (71%), followed by the Western Cape (70%) and Mpumalanga (70%). The overall rate of completion declined from 2018 to 2019 across all provinces, with the greatest drop in the Northern Cape (25%).
The chart above illustrates that Gauteng, Limpopo and KZN had the highest number of students who completed N6 level Engineering Studies with 7,779, 5,431 and 4,283 students, respectively. The completion rates for N6 level in Engineering Studies was highest amongst students in Limpopo (94%), KZN (94%) and the Eastern Cape (93%), followed closely by North-West (92%) and Free State (92%). Completion rates are above 80% across all nine provinces, with seven provinces boasting rates above 90%.
The chart above shows the gender gap in the telecommunications sector between 2015 and 2020. The sector is dominated by men, however the employment gap between men and women has diminished between 2019 and 2020 compared to the previous period. The sector grew in 2020 compared to 2015, by 3,378 jobs. The peak of employment in the sector was in 2018 which had a total employment of 37,063.