International organisations have developed or proposed socio-economic indicators to measure development progress 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 needs. As the official agency for the collection of national statistics, Statistics South Africa has played a crucial role in the development of indictors in South Africa including the compilation of the core set of 21 indicators within the framework of the Organisation of Economic Co-orporation and Development (OECD)/World Bank/United Nations initiative. This paper provides background information on broad economic indicators in South Africa. In addition, the paper situates the levels of socio-economic development in South Africa within the framework of the OECD/World Bank/United Nations core set of indicators.