Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Most journalists readily acknowledge that they cannot be proud at all of their numeracy. The literature also depicts a rather bleak scenario regarding journalists' use and often misuse of numbers. This matter raises concerns especially in the present century, characterised by a rapid development in the area of science and technology. Numeracy is essential to make sense of those developments that are frequently explained by means of numbers or mathematical and statistical concepts.