There are 15 million undocumented foreigners in South Africa
Source: South African politician and businessman Herman Mashaba (November 2020)
Data from Statistics South Africa and the United Nations put the number of foreign-born migrants in the country at around 4 million.
There are approximately 48,000 potholes across Johannesburg
Source: Moneyweb article (November 2020)
The city government estimates there are 100,000 potholes, and the roads agency planned to fix nearly 141,000 in 2019/20.
Nearly 7,500 children under the age of five die annually in South Africa as a direct result of hunger.
Source: Daily Maverick (18 September 2020)
According to the latest official figures, just over 800 children under the age of five die annually in South Africa from severe acute malnutrition. While the real number is likely to be higher, no available data shows by how much.
The number of commercial farmers in South Africa has fallen from 120,000 to 38,000.
Source: Dianne Kohler Barnard, Democratic Alliance member of parliament (1 September 2020)
There is no data on the number of individual farmers in the country. Figures from Stats SA are of the number of commercial farming units, and the definition of a unit has changed since the early 1990s.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in South Africa after HIV/Aids.
Source: The South African Heart Association (29 September 2020)
World Health Organization data shows that infectious and parasitic diseases were the leading cause of death. HIV/Aids accounted for the majority of those deaths. Cardiovascular diseases were ranked second.
Two claims about human trafficking in South Africa.
Source: Lerato Kganyago, South African television presenter and DJ (14 September 2020)
One exaggerated, one incorrect
Four claims about police violence in South Africa
Source: Online graphic (August 2020)
One mostly correct, two correct, one unproven
Three claims about alcohol consumption in South Africa
Source: South African health minister Zweli Mkhize (August 2020)
Two correct, one incorrect
South Africa has the fifth-highest Covid-19 infection rate in the world.
Source: The New York Times (August 2020)
South Africa has the fifth-highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases.
Filters can “eat any form of virus including coronavirus” on aeroplanes.
Source: Fikile Mbalula, South Africa’s transport minister (29 June 2020)
High efficiency particulate air filters capture virtually all viruses and bacteria from the air in plane cabins. But they can’t capture large infected particles or prevent transmission caused by close contact.