International organisations have proposed a number of socioeconomic indicators to measure the progress of development across countries. In addition to meeting international obligations, there have been a number of initiatives in South Africa to develop indicators that take into consideration the country’s specific circumstances. As the official agency for the collection of national statistics, Statistics South Africa has played a crucial role in this process. It includes responsibility for the compilation of the core set of 21 indicators within the framework of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/World Bank/United Nations initiative. This paper discusses the levels of social indicators in South Africa within the framework of the OECD/Word Bank/United Nations core set of indicators. In addition, the paper highlights some of the problems facing Statistics South Africa in providing timely statistics on social indicators.