INTRODUCTION
The SADC Statistical Yearbook was developed as one of the tools to improve statistical services at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat. The general concept for the SADC Statistical Yearbook is to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive set of information on the socio-economic profiles and development of the SADC region and its Member States. Currently, SADC's fifteen Member States comprise the following: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The SADC Statistical Yearbook provides time-series and summaries of statistical information and data to stakeholders and other users pertaining to various aspects SADC and its Member States including population, society, government, economy, and cross cutting issues such as poverty, environment and gender. The socio-economic information from the SADC Statistical Yearbook can be used to discern the baseline situation and profiles of the SADC region and its Member States.
To facilitate comparability of indicators across countries and the region and over time, the annual data from Member States, complemented by international data sources, were used. Given the diversity of SADC countries, the SADC Statistical Yearbook placed emphasis on indicators expressed as ratios, percentages, rates, or in per capita terms, with absolute numbers presented only to a limited extent.
It is expected that the SADC Statistical Yearbook can provide stakeholders with convenient access to regular and comprehensive information on the socio-economic profiles and development of the region with the aim of enhancing understanding of the key development issues of SADC and its Member States. Moreover the SADC Statistical Yearbook can be used as tool to contribute towards steering information-based policy and decision making, planning, monitoring and evaluation for the region’s economic cooperation and integration.
