Welcome to the National Income Dynamics Study

The National Income Dynamic Study (NIDS), is the first national panel study in South Africa.  The Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) based at the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town is tasked with implementing this survey.

Latest News

• NIDS Wave 2 has been made publicly available on the DataFirst website. Users are urged to notify SALDRU of any anomalies in the dataset by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Version 4.1 of NIDS Wave 1 has been uploaded to the DataFirst website. Data can be accessed here. Documentation describing the differences between Version 3.0 and Version 4.0 and Version 4.1 can be accessed here. 

• Workshop on the Weights in the NIDS Dataset

  Many users of the NIDS datasets have been perplexed by the different weights that have been released with the data. This may get worse with the release of the second wave, because there are now panel weights and wave 2 cross-sectional weights to add in to the mix. This workshop is intended to step users through the different weights, explain what they are and give some advice as to how to use them.  Download the flyer for more information.

Correct Citation of the Data

Latest Wave 1 Data:

• Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit. National Income Dynamics Study 2008, Wave 1 [dataset]. Version 4.1. Cape Town: Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit [producer], 2012. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2012

Latest Wave 2 Data:

• Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit. National Income Dynamics Study 2010-2011, Wave 2 [dataset]. Version 1. Cape Town: Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit [producer], 2012. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2012