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Demographics of South Africa

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use South African English|date=May 2012}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}

{{Infobox place demographics

| place = South Africa

| image = 350px

| caption = South Africa population pyramid in 2020

| size_of_population = 63 million (2024 est.)

| density = {{convert|48.1|/sqkm|/sqmi|abbr=on}}

| growth = 1.33%{{rp|12}}

| birth = 19.6 births/1,000 population (2024 est.){{rp|7}}

| death = 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.){{rp|7}}

| life = 66.5 years (2024 est.){{rp|8}}

| life_male = 63.6 years (2024 est.){{rp|8}}

| life_female = 69.2 years (2024 est.){{rp|8}}

| infant_mortality = 22.9 deaths/1,000 (2024 est.){{rp|8}}

| fertility = 2.41 children born/woman (2024 est.){{rp|4}}

| age_0-14_years = 28.8% (2019 est.){{fact|date=April 2023}}

| age_15-64_years = 65.2% (2019 est.){{fact|date=April 2023}}

| age_65_years = 6% (2019 est.){{fact|date=April 2023}}

| total_mf_ratio = 0.99 male(s)/female (2010 est.){{fact|date=April 2023}}

| sr_at_birth = 1.02 male(s)/female{{fact|date=April 2023}}

| sr_under_15 = 1 male(s)/female{{fact|date=April 2023}}

| sr_15-64_years = 1.02 male(s)/female{{fact|date=April 2023}}

| sr_65_years_over = 0.68 male(s)/female{{fact|date=April 2023}}

| nation = South African

| major_ethnic = {{unbulleted list

|{{Tree list}}

  • {{increaseNeutral}} Blacks (81.45%){{Cite web |date=10 October 2023 |title=Census 2022: Statistical Release |url=https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=statssa.gov.za |page=6}}
  • Zulus (N/D)
  • Xhosas (N/D)
  • Sothos (N/D)
  • Tswana (N/D)
  • Pedi (N/D)
  • Others (N/D)

{{tree list/end}}

}}

| minor_ethnic = {{unbulleted list

|{{Tree list}}

  • {{increaseNeutral}} Coloureds (8.15%)
  • {{decreaseNeutral}} Whites (7.30%)
  • Afrikaners (N/D)
  • Britons (N/D)
  • Germans (N/D)
  • Others (N/D)
  • {{increaseNeutral}} Indians (2.74%){{Cite web |date=10 October 2023 |title=Census 2022: Statistical Release |url=https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=statssa.gov.za |page=6}}
  • {{decreaseNeutral}} Others (0.39%)

{{tree list/end}}

}}

| official = Afrikaans{{·}}English{{·}}Xhosa{{·}}Sotho, Pedi{{·}}Zulu{{·}}Tswana{{·}}Swazi{{·}}Venda{{·}}Tsonga{{·}}Southern Ndebele

| spoken = Languages of South Africa

}}

File:South Africa 2011 population density map (hex cells).svg

According to the 2022 census, the population of South Africa is about 62 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. With a majority being Black Africans.{{Cite web |title=Statistics South Africa - Census Dissemination |url=https://census.statssa.gov.za/#/statsbytheme |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=census.statssa.gov.za}} The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032.{{Cite web|url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=11323|title=Census 2021 New Methodologies Test|date=20 July 2018|website=Statistics South Africa (Stats SA)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804010519/http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=11323|archive-date=4 August 2018|url-status=dead}}

In 2011, Statistics South Africa counted 2.1 million foreigners in total.{{cite web|url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P03014/P030142011.pdf|title=Table 3.5, Statistical release (Revised) P0301.4, Census 2011|website=Statssa.gov.za|access-date=25 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113203528/http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P03014/P030142011.pdf|archive-date=13 November 2015}} Reports{{specify|date=September 2020}} suggest that is an underestimation. The real figure may be as high as five million,{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/11399350|title=Nowhere left to go|date=20 May 2008|access-date=29 August 2017|newspaper=The Economist}} including some three million Zimbabweans.{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/story/573086/escape-from-mugabe-zimbabwes-exodus |title=Escape From Mugabe: Zimbabwe's Exodus |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124000311/http://news.sky.com/story/573086/escape-from-mugabe-zimbabwes-exodus |archive-date=24 January 2016}}

History

File:Historical population of South Africa.svgThe earliest creatures that can be identified as human ancestors in South Africa are australopithecines. The first evidence of this was a child's skull found in the Taung quarry site. This was in the modern day North-West province. More fossils australopithecines were found in limestone caves Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, and Kromdaai. {{Cite web |date=2024-10-28 |title=South Africa - Apartheid, Colonization, Freedom {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/History |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}{{Further|History of South Africa}}

{{Expand section|date=January 2022}}

Population

=Earlier Censuses, 1904 to 2011=

==1904 Census==

South African population figures for the 1904 Census.Smuts I: The Sanguine Years 1870–1919, W.K. Hancock, Cambridge University Press, 1962, pg 219

class="wikitable" style="width:60%;"
style="text-align:center"

! {{diagonal split header|Pop.
Group|Colony}}

| style="width:15%; background:mistyrose;"|Cape Colony

| style="width:15%; background:mistyrose;"|Natal

| style="width:15%; background:moccasin;"|Transvaal

| style="width:15%; background:moccasin;"| Orange River
Colony

! Total

! Percent

style="text-align:right; background:gainsboro;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Black

|  1,424,787

| 904,041

| 937,127

| 225,101

| 3,491,056

| {{percentage bar|width=75|67.5}}

style="text-align:right; background:white;"

| style="text-align:left; "|White

| 579,741

| 97,109

| 297,277

| 142,690

| 1,116,805

| {{percentage bar|width=75|21.6}}

style="text-align:right; background:#eee;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Coloured

| 395,034

| 6,686

| 24,226

| 19,282

| 445,228

| {{percentage bar|width=75|8.6}}

style="text-align:right; background:#EEEEE0"

| style="text-align:left; "|Indian

| 10,242

| 100,918

| 11,321

| 253

| 122,734

| {{percentage bar|width=75|2.4}}

style="text-align:right; background:honeydew;"

| style="text-align:center;"|Total

| 2,409,804

| 1,108,754

| 1,269,951

| 387,315

| 5,175,463

| {{percentage bar|width=75|100.0}}

style="text-align:right; background:mintcream;"

| style="text-align:left;"|% of S. Africa

| {{percentage bar|width=75|46.6}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|21.4}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|24.5}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|7.5}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|100}}

|

==1960 Census==

Sources: Statesman's Year-Book 1967–1968;The Statesman's Year-Book, 1967–1968 (104th annual edition), edited by S.H. Steinberg, Macmillan, London; St. Martin's Press, New York, 1967, pages 1405–1424 Europa Year Book 1969The Europa Year Book 1969, Volume II: Africa, The Americas, Asia, Australasia, Europa Publications, London, 1969, page 1286

class="wikitable" width="60%"
style="text-align:center"

! {{diagonal split header|Pop. Group|Province}}

| width="15%" bgcolor="mistyrose"|Cape of
Good Hope

| width="15%" bgcolor="mistyrose"|Natal

| width="15%" bgcolor="moccasin"|Transvaal

| width="15%" bgcolor="moccasin"| Orange
Free State

! Total

! Percent

style="text-align:right; background:gainsboro;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Black

| 3,011,080

| 2,199,920

| 4,633,378

| 1,083,886

| 10,928,264

| {{percentage bar|width=75|68.3}}

style="text-align:right; background:white;"

| style="text-align:left; "|White

| 1,003,207

| 340,235

| 1,468,305

| 276,745

| 3,088,492

| {{percentage bar|width=75|19.3}}

style="text-align:right; background:#eeeeee"

| style="text-align:left;"|Coloured

| 1,330,089

| 45,253

| 108,007

| 25,909

| 1,509,258

| {{percentage bar|width=75|9.4}}

style="text-align:right; background:#EEEEE0"

| style="text-align:left; "|Indian

| 18,477

| 394,854

| 63,787

| 7

| 477,125

| {{percentage bar|width=75|3.0}}

style="text-align:right; background:honeydew;"

| style="text-align:center;"|Total

| 5,362,853

| 2,980,262

| 6,273,477

| 1,386,547

| 16,003,139

| {{percentage bar|width=75|100.0}}

style="text-align:right; background:mintcream;"

| align="left"|% of S. Africa

| {{percentage bar|width=75|33.5}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|18.6}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|39.2}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|8.7}}

| {{percentage bar|width=75|100}}

|

== 1904–85 national census numbers ==

Bantustan demographics were removed from South African census data during Apartheid and for this reason official figures on the national population of the country during that period will be inaccurate.{{Cite journal|last=Ogura|first=Mitsuo|date=1996|title=Urbanization and Apartheid in South Africa: Influx Controls and Their Abolition|journal=The Developing Economies|language=en|volume=34|issue=4|pages=402–423|doi=10.1111/j.1746-1049.1996.tb01178.x|pmid=12292280 |issn=1746-1049|doi-access=free}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right" size="90%"

|+Population Size by Race, 1904–85 (1,000 people)

! rowspan="2" |Year

|

! colspan="2" style="background:gainsboro"|Blacks

|

! colspan="2" style="background:white" |Whites

|

! colspan="2" style="background:#eeeee0" |Coloureds

|

! colspan="2" style="background:beige"|Asians

|

! colspan="2" style="background:honeydew" |Total

!style="background:gainsboro"|Popu-
lation (1,000 people)

!style="background:gainsboro"|%

|

!style="background:white" |Popu-
lation (1,000 people)

!style="background:white" |%

|

!style="background:#eee" |Popu-
lation (1,000 people)

!style="background:#eee" |%

|

!style="background:beige"|Popu-
lation (1,000 people)

!style="background:beige"|%

|

|style="background:honeydew" align="center" |Popu-
lation (1,000 people)

|style="background:honeydew" align="center" | Area included

1904

|

|4,019

|{{percentage bar|width=50|67.3}}

|

|1,117

|{{percentage bar|width=50|21.6}}

|

|445

|{{percentage bar|width=50|8.6}}

|

|122

|{{percentage bar|width=50|2.4}}

|

|5,174

|South Africa

1911

|

|3,490

|{{percentage bar|width=50|67.5}}

|

|1,276

|{{percentage bar|width=50|21.4}}

|

|525

|{{percentage bar|width=50|8.8}}

|

|152

|{{percentage bar|width=50|2.6}}

|

|5,972

|South Africa

1921

|

|4,697

|{{percentage bar|width=50|67.8}}

|

|1,521

|{{percentage bar|width=50|22.0}}

|

|545

|{{percentage bar|width=50|7.9}}

|

|163

|{{percentage bar|width=50|2.4}}

|

|6,926

|South Africa

1936

|

|6,596

|{{percentage bar|width=50|68.8}}

|

|2,003

|{{percentage bar|width=50|20.9}}

|

|769

|{{percentage bar|width=50|8.0}}

|

|220

|{{percentage bar|width=50|2.3}}

|

|9,588

|South Africa

1946

|

|7,830

|{{percentage bar|width=50|68.6}}

|

|2,372

|{{percentage bar|width=50|20.8}}

|

|928

|{{percentage bar|width=50|8.1}}

|

|285

|{{percentage bar|width=50|2.5}}

|

|11,415

|South Africa

1951

|

|8,560

|{{percentage bar|width=50|67.6}}

|

|2,642

|{{percentage bar|width=50|20.9}}

|

|1,103

|{{percentage bar|width=50|8.7}}

|

|367

|{{percentage bar|width=50|2.9}}

|

|12,672

|South Africa

1960

|

|10,928

|{{percentage bar|width=50|68.3}}

|

|3,088

|{{percentage bar|width=50|19.3}}

|

|1,509

|{{percentage bar|width=50|9.4}}

|

|477

|{{percentage bar|width=50|3.0}}

|

|16,002

|South Africa

style="background:AliceBlue"

|1970

|

|11,891

|{{percentage bar|width=50|64.9}}

|

|3,759

|{{percentage bar|width=50|20.5}}

|

|2,039

|{{percentage bar|width=50|11.1}}

|

|630

|{{percentage bar|width=50|3.4}}

|

|18,319

|align="left" |South Africa - excluding Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda & Ciskei

1970

|

|15,340

|{{percentage bar|width=50|70.4}}

|

|3,773

|{{percentage bar|width=50|17.3}}

|

|2,051

|{{percentage bar|width=50|9.4}}

|

|630

|{{percentage bar|width=50|2.9}}

|

|21,794

|South Africa

style="background:AliceBlue"

|1980

|

|13,135

|{{percentage bar|width=50|63.9}}

|

|4,221

|{{percentage bar|width=50|20.5}}

|

|2,459

|{{percentage bar|width=50|12.0}}

|

|748

|{{percentage bar|width=50|3.6}}

|

|20,563

|align="left"|South Africa - excluding Transkei, Bophuthatswana & Venda

1980

|

|16,992

|{{percentage bar|width=50|68.0}}

|

|4,512

|{{percentage bar|width=50|18.1}}

|

|2,688

|{{percentage bar|width=50|10.8}}

|

|803

|{{percentage bar|width=50|3.2}}

|

|24,995

|South Africa - estimate

style="background:AliceBlue"

|1985

|

|15,163

|{{percentage bar|width=50|64.8}}

|

|4,569

|{{percentage bar|width=50|19.5}}

|

|2,833

|{{percentage bar|width=50|12.1}}

|

|821

|{{percentage bar|width=50|3.51}}

|

|23,386

|align="left"|South Africa - excluding Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda & Ciskei

1985

|

|19,052

|{{percentage bar|width=50|68.8}}

|

|4,837

|{{percentage bar|width=50|17.5}}

|

|2,396

|{{percentage bar|width=50|8.7}}

|

|879

|{{percentage bar|width=50|3.2}}

|

|27,704

|South Africa - estimate

Year

|

! colspan="2" style="background:gainsboro"|Blacks

|

! colspan="2" style="background:white" |Whites

|

! colspan="2" style="background:#eeeee0" |Coloureds

|

! colspan="2" style="background:beige"|Asians

|

! style="background:honeydew" |Total

! style="background:honeydew" |Area included

==1996 Census==

Source: The People of South Africa: Population Census, 1996{{cite web |url= https://apps.statssa.gov.za/census01/Census96/HTML/CIB/CIB1996.pdf|title= The People of South Africa: Population Census, 1996|author= Statistics South Africa |year= 1999|language= en |access-date=19 April 2020 }}

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"

! map

! {{diagonal split header| Province ↓ | Population
Group
→}}

! Black

! White

! Coloured

! Indian/
Asian

! Other

! Total

! % of
S.A.

style="background:MistyRose"| 1 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:MistyRose"| Northern Cape

|style="background:gainsboro;"|278,633

|style="background:White;"| 111,844

|style="background:#eee" | 435,368

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 2,268

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 12,208

|style="background:honeydew"| 840,321

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|2.1}}

style="background:MistyRose"| 2 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:MistyRose"| Western Cape

|style="background:gainsboro;"|826,691

|style="background:White;"| 821,551

|style="background:#eee" | 2,146,109

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 40,376

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 122,148

|style="background:honeydew"| 3,956,875

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|9.7}}

style="background:MistyRose"| 3 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:MistyRose"| Eastern Cape

|style="background:gainsboro;"|5,448,495

|style="background:White;"| 330,294

|style="background:#eee" |468,532

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 19,356

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 35,849

|style="background:honeydew"| 6,302,525

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|15.5}}

style="background:MistyRose"| 4 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:MistyRose"| KwaZulu-Natal

|style="background:gainsboro;"|6,880,652

|style="background:White;"| 558,182

|style="background:#eee" | 117,951

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 790,813

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 69,423

|style="background:honeydew"| 8,417,021

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|20.7}}

style="background:Moccasin"|5 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:Moccasin"| Mpumalanga

|style="background:gainsboro;"|2,497,834

|style="background:White;"| 253,392

|style="background:#eee" | 20,283

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 13,083

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 16,120

|style="background:honeydew"| 2,800,711

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|6.9}}

style="background:Moccasin" |6 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:Moccasin"| Free State

|style="background:gainsboro;"|2,223,940

|style="background:White;"| 316,459

|style="background:#eee" | 79,038

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 2,805

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 11,262

|style="background:honeydew"| 2,633,504

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|6.5}}

style="background:Moccasin" |7 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:Moccasin"| Gauteng

|style="background:gainsboro;"|5,147,444

|style="background:White;"| 1,702,343

|style="background:#eee" | 278,692

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 161,289

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 58,654

|style="background:honeydew"| 7,348,423

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|18.1}}

style="background:Moccasin" | 8 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:Moccasin"| Northern Province
(Limpopo)

|style="background:gainsboro;"|4,765,255

|style="background:White;"| 117,878

|style="background:#eee" | 7,821

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 5,510

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 32,904

|style="background:honeydew"| 4,929,368

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|12.1}}

style="background:Moccasin" |9 40px

|style="text-align:left; background:Moccasin"| North West

|style="background:gainsboro;"|3,058,686

|style="background:White;"| 222,755

|style="background:#eee" | 46,652

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 10,097

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 16,635

|style="background:honeydew"| 3,354,825

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|8.3}}

class="sortbottom"

| rowspan="2" " style="Background:Honeydew"| 65px

|style="Background:Honeydew"|South Africa Total

|style="background:gainsboro;"|31,127,631

|style="background:White;"| 4,434,697

|style="background:#eee" | 3,600,446

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| 1,045,596

|style="background:AliceBlue"| 375,204

|style="background:honeydew"| 40,583,573

|style="Background:MintCream"| {{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

class="sortbottom" style+"text-align:left"

|style="Background:honeydew"| Percent

|style="background:gainsboro;"| {{percentage bar|width=70|76.7}}

|style="background:White;"| {{percentage bar|width=70|10.9}}

|style="background:#eee" | {{percentage bar|width=70|8.9}}

|style="background:#EEEEE0"| {{percentage bar|width=70|2.6}}

|style="background:AliceBlue"| {{percentage bar|width=70|0.9}}

|style="background:honeydew"| {{percentage bar|width=70|100}}

|

class="sortbottom" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"

|

| Population Group →

| Black

| White

| Coloured

| Asian

| Other

| Total

| % of RSA

==2001 Census==

Source: Statistics South Africa: Census 2001{{cite web |url= http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2001/census_in_brief/CIB2001.pdf|title= Statistics South Africa: Census 2001|author= Statistics South Africa |year= 2003|language= en |access-date=20 April 2020 }}

class="wikitable" style="width:80%;"
style="text-align:center"

! {{diagonal split header|Pop. Group|Province}}

! Eastern Cape

! Free State

! Gauteng

! KwaZulu-Natal

! Limpopo

! Mpumalanga

! Northern Cape

! North West

! Western Cape

! Total

! Percent

style="text-align:right; background:gainsboro;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Black

| 5,635,079

| 2,381,073

| 6,522,792

| 8,002,407

| 5,128,616

| 2,886,345

| 293,976

| 3,358,450

| 1,207,429

| 35,416,166

| {{percentage bar|width=50|79.0}}

style="text-align:right; background:white;"

| style="text-align:left; "|White

| 304,506

| 238,791

| 1,758,398

| 483,448

| 126,276

| 203,244

| 102,042

| 244,035

| 832,901

| 4,293,640

| {{percentage bar|width=50|9.6}}

style="text-align:right; background:#eee;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Coloured

| 478,807

| 83,193

| 337,974

| 141,887

| 10,163

| 22,158

| 424,389

| 56,959

| 2,438,976

| 3,994,505

| {{percentage bar|width=50|8.9}}

style="text-align:right; background:#EEEEE0"

| style="text-align:left; "|Indian

| 18,372

| 3,719

| 218,015

| 798,275

| 8,587

| 11,244

| 2,320

| 9,906

| 45,030

| 1,115,467

| {{percentage bar|width=50|2.5}}

style="text-align:right; background:honeydew;"

| style="text-align:center;"|Total

| 6,436,763

| 2,706,775

| 8,837,178

| 9,426,017

| 5,273,642

| 3,122,990

| 822,727

| 3,669,349

| 4,524,335

| 44,819,778

| {{percentage bar|width=50|100.0}}

style="text-align:right; background:mintcream;"

| style="text-align:left;"|% of S.A.

| {{percentage bar|width=70|14.4}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|6.0}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|19.7}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|21.0}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|11.8}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|7.0}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|1.8}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|8.2}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|10.1}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|100}}

|

==2011 Census==

Source: Census 2011: Census in Brief{{cite web |url= http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf|title= Census 2011: Census in Brief|author= Statistics South Africa |year= 2012|language= en |access-date=20 April 2020 }}

class="wikitable" style="width:80%;"
style="text-align:center"

! {{diagonal split header|Pop. Group|Province}}

! Eastern Cape

! Free State

! Gauteng

! KwaZulu-Natal

! Limpopo

! Mpumalanga

! Northern Cape

! North West

! Western Cape

! Total

! Percent

style="text-align:right; background:gainsboro;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Black

| 5,660,230

| 2,405,533

| 9,493,684

| 8,912,921

| 5,224,754

| 3,662,219

| 576,986

| 3,152,063

| 1,912,547

| 41,000,938

| {{percentage bar|width=50|79.2}}

style="text-align:right; background:#eee;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Coloured

| 541,850

| 83,844

| 423,594

| 141,376

| 14,415

| 36,611

| 461,899

| 71,409

| 2,840,404

| 4,615,401

| {{percentage bar|width=50|8.9}}

style="text-align:right; background:white;"

| style="text-align:left; "|White

| 310,450

| 239,026

| 1,913,884

| 428,842

| 139,359

| 303,595

| 81,246

| 255,385

| 915,053

| 4,586,838

| {{percentage bar|width=50|8.9}}

style="text-align:right; background:#EEEEE0"

| style="text-align:left; "|Indian/Asian

| 27,929

| 10,398

| 356,574

| 756,991

| 17,881

| 27,917

| 7,827

| 20,652

| 60,761

| 1,286,930

| {{percentage bar|width=50|2.5}}

style="text-align:right;

| style="text-align:left; "|Other

| 21,595

| 6,790

| 84,527

| 27,170

| 8,459

| 9,597

| 17,903

| 10,444

| 93,969

| 280,454

| {{percentage bar|width=50|0.5}}

style="text-align:right; background:honeydew;"

| style="text-align:center;"|Total

| 6,562,053

| 2,745,590

| 12,272,263

| 10,267,300

| 5,404,868

| 4,039,939

| 1,145,861

| 3,509,953

| 5,822,734

| 51,770,560

| {{percentage bar|width=50|100.0}}

style="text-align:right; background:mintcream;"

| style="text-align:left;"|% of S.A.

| {{percentage bar|width=70|12.7}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|5.3}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|23.7}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|19.8}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|10.4}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|7.8}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|2.2}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|7.1}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|11.2}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|100}}

|

{{Graph:Chart

| width=600

| height=200

| xAxisTitle=Year

| yAxisTitle=Total Historical Population

| type=rect

| showSymbols=

| colors=darkred, gold

| xAxisAngle=-45

| showValues=offset:5, fontcolor:gold

| x=1820,1870,1904,1911,1913, 1921, 1936, 1946, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016

| y=1550000, 2547000, 5175463, 5972757, 6153000, 6927403, 9587863, 11415925, 13683162, 15384557, 17396367, 22502502, 29077143, 36793490, 41426810, 44819777, 48502063, 51770560, 55653654

}}

==2022 Census==

Source: Census 2022 Statistical Releasehttps://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}

class="wikitable" style="width:80%;"
style="text-align:center"

! {{diagonal split header|Pop. Group|Province}}

! Eastern Cape

! Free State

! Gauteng

! KwaZulu-Natal

! Limpopo

! Mpumalanga

! Northern Cape

! North West

! Western Cape

! Total

! Percent

style="text-align:right; background:gainsboro;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Black

| 6,189,075

| 2,630,556

| 12,763,312

| 10,535,830

| 6,341,601

| 4,898,063

| 679,383

| 3,562,524

| 2,884,511

| 50,486,856

| {{percentage bar|width=50|81.4}}

style="text-align:right; background:#eee;"

| style="text-align:left;"|Coloured

| 547,741

| 78,141

| 443,857

| 183,019

| 18,409

| 32,100

| 563,605

| 60,720

| 3,124,757

| 5,052,349

| {{percentage bar|width=50|8.2}}

style="text-align:right; background:white;"

| style="text-align:left; "|White

| 403,061

| 235,915

| 1,509,800

| 513,377

| 167,524

| 185,731

| 99,150

| 171,887

| 1,217,807

| 4,504,252

| {{percentage bar|width=50|7.3}}

style="text-align:right; background:#EEEEE0"

| style="text-align:left; "|Indian

| 37,568

| 12,978

| 329,736

| 1,157,542

| 35,958

| 25,882

| 10,824

| 2,654

| 84,363

| 1,697,506

| {{percentage bar|width=50|2.7}}

style="text-align:right;

| style="text-align:left; "|Other

| 48,339

| 4,274

| 35,890

| 27,442

| 7,172

| 440

| 2,667

| 5,894

| 115,235

| 247,353

| {{percentage bar|width=50|0.4}}

style="text-align:right; background:honeydew;"

| style="text-align:center;"|Total

| 7,225,784

| 2,961,864

| 15,084,595

| 12,417,210

| 6,570,664

| 5,142,216

| 1,355,629

| 3,803,679

| 7,426,673

| 61,988,314

| {{percentage bar|width=50|100.0}}

style="text-align:right; background:mintcream;"

| style="text-align:left;"|% of S.A.

| {{percentage bar|width=70|11.7}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|4.8}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|24.3}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|20.0}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|10.6}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|8.3}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|2.2}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|6.1}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|12.0}}

| {{percentage bar|width=70|100}}

|

{{Graph:Chart

| width=600

| height=200

| xAxisTitle=Year

| yAxisTitle=Total Historical Population

| type=rect

| showSymbols=

| colors=darkred, gold

| xAxisAngle=-45

| showValues=offset:5, fontcolor:gold

| x=1820,1870,1904,1911,1913, 1921, 1936, 1946, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016

| y=1550000, 2547000, 5175463, 5972757, 6153000, 6927403, 9587863, 11415925, 13683162, 15384557, 17396367, 22502502, 29077143, 36793490, 41426810, 44819777, 48502063, 51770560, 55653654

}}

{{Historical populations|type=ZA|percentages = pagr

|1|100000

|1000|300000

|1500|600000

|1600|700000

|1700|1000000

|1820|1550000

|1870|2547000

|1904|5175463

|1911|5972757

|1913|6153000

|1921|6927403

|1936|9587863

|1946|11415925

|1950|13683162

|1955|15384557

|1960|17396367

|1970|22502502

|1980|29077143

|1990|36793490

|1995|41426810

|2001|44819777

|2007|48502063

|2011|51770560

|2016|55653654

|2022|62027503

|footnote=Note: Population estimates (1 AD - 1870 AD) are deduced from quantitative macroeconomic historical calculations. 1 (est.), 1000 (est.), 1500 (est.), 1600 (est.), 1700 (est.), 1820 (est.), 1870 (est.), 1913,{{cite web | url=http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/Historical_Statistics/horizontal-file_02-2010.xls | title=Statistics on World Population, GDP and Per Capita GDP, 1-2008 AD | publisher=University of Groningen | date=2010 | access-date=1 March 2016 | author=Angus Maddison | archive-date=30 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130172908/http://www.ggdc.net/maddison/historical_statistics/horizontal-file_02-2010.xls | url-status=dead }} 1904

1904-1946,The Statesman's Year-Book 1977–1978 (ed. John Paxton), St. Martin's Press, New York (& Macmillan, London), 1977, page 1296{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/SouthAfrica-CapeTown.html|title=City of Cape Town / Isixeko Sasekapa, Stad Kaapstad: Metropolitan Municipality & Main Places – Statistics & Maps on City Population|website=Citypopulation.de|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829162554/http://www.citypopulation.de/SouthAfrica-CapeTown.html|archive-date=29 August 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/SouthAfrica-UA.html|title=South Africa: Provinces and Major Urban Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts|website=Citypopulation.de|access-date=29 August 2017}} 1950-2010,{{cite web | url=http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DVD/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2015_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.XLS | title=Total Population - Both Sexes (XLS, 3.74 MB) - 2015 revision | publisher=United Nations | date=2015 | access-date=1 March 2016 | author=Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222125602/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DVD/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2015_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.XLS | archive-date=22 December 2015 | url-status=dead }} 2001, 2011, 2015{{cite web | url=https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022015.pdf | title=Mid-year population estimates | publisher=Statistics South Africa | date=23 July 2015 | access-date=1 March 2016}}

}}

=Historical and projected population for the years 1 to 2022=

==UN Age and population estimates: 1950 to 2030==

According to the 2019 revision of the United Nations Secretariat's World Population Prospects, South Africa's total population was 55,386,000 in 2015, compared to only 13,628,000 in 1950. In 2015, 29.3% of the people were children under the age of 15, 65.7% were between 15 and 64 years of age, and 5.0% were 65 or older.{{Cite web|title=World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/|access-date=2023-02-06|website=population.un.org

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617000901/https://population.un.org/wpp/ |archive-date=17 June 2020

}} All population estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.

class="wikitable" style="width:54%; text-align:center;"
rowspan=2 style="width:6%;"|Year

!rowspan=2 style="width:12%;"|Total population

!colspan=3| Percentage in age bracket

under 15 years old

! 15 to 64 years old

! at least 65 years old

1950

|13,628,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|38.2}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|57.7}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|4.1}}

1955

|15,207,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|39.5}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|56.5}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|3.9}}

1960

|17,100,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|40.8}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|55.4}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|3.9}}

1965

|19,385,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|41.9}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|54.3}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|3.8}}

1970

|22,070,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|41.6}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|54.7}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|3.8}}

1975

|25,195,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|41.2}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|55.0}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|3.8}}

1980

|28,557,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|40.9}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|55.3}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|3.9}}

1985

|32,679,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|40.8}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|55.4}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|3.9}}

1990

|36,801,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|40.1}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|55.9}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|4.0}}

tyt,7ik ,iy,tj

| 1995

|41,436,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|37.3}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|58.4}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|4.3}}

2000

|44,968,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|33.9}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|61.6}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|4.5}}

2005

|47,881,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|30.9}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|64.5}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|4.6}}

2010

|51,217,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|29.7}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|65.6}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|4.8}}

2015

|55,386,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|29.3}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|65.7}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|5.0}}

2020

|59,309,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|28.8}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|65.7}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|5.5}}

2025

|62,803,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|27.4}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|66.5}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|6.1}}

2030

|65,956,000

|{{percentage bar|width=70|25.8}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|67.6}}

|{{percentage bar|width=70|6.7}}

==UN population projections: 2019 to 2100==

{{clear}}{{Historical populations

|title = U.N. Population projections

|type =

|align = right

|width = 25%

|state =

|shading = off

|percentages = pagr

|footnote = Note that the average percentage changes are per year (per annum), and not the total change over the period between estimates

|source = United Nations Secretariat{{cite web |title=World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_DataBooklet.pdf |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Dynamics |access-date=21 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212081318/https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_DataBooklet.pdf |archive-date=12 February 2020 |url-status=dead }}

|2019| 58558000

|2030| 65956000

|2050| 75518000

|2100| 79191000

}}

Vital statistics

=Vital statistics=

The following statistics are obtained from the mid-year population estimates published by Statistics South Africa:

{{Image frame

| caption= {{legend|darkred|Population estimates for South Africa 2002-2020}}

| content = {{Graph:Chart

| width=600

| height=200

| xAxisTitle=Year

| yAxisTitle=Total Population

| type=line

| showSymbols=

| colors=darkred, gold

| xAxisAngle=-45

| showValues=offset:5, fontcolor:darkgreen

| x=2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y=46,355,083, 46,806,354, 47,310,050, 47,860,360, 48,446,414, 49,088,699, 49,794,560, 50,544,931, 51,328,662, 52,129,117, 52,930,356, 53,751,095, 54,574,401, 55,406,634, 56,252,336, 57,097,857, 57,939,226, 58,775,022, 59,622,350, 60,142,978, 60,604,992

}}

}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
! style="width:80pt;"|Average population

! style="width:80pt;"|Live births

! style="width:80pt;"|Deaths

! style="width:80pt;"|Natural change

! style="width:80pt;"|Crude birth rate (per 1,000)

! style="width:80pt;"|Crude death rate (per 1,000)

! style="width:80pt;"|Natural change (per 1,000)

! style="width:80pt;"|Total fertility rates

2002

| style="text-align:right;"| 46,572,861

| style="text-align:right;"| 987,121

| style="text-align:right;"| 621,727

| style="text-align:right;"| 365,394

| style="text-align:right;"| 21.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 7.8

| style="color:blue"| 2.55

2003

| style="text-align:right;"| 47,005,180

| style="text-align:right;"| 975,304

| style="text-align:right;"| 639,556

| style="text-align:right;"| 335,748

| style="text-align:right;"| 20.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 7.1

| style="color:blue"| 2.48

2004

| style="text-align:right;"| 47,504,691

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,049,185

| style="text-align:right;"| 660,576

| style="text-align:right;"| 388,609

| style="text-align:right;"| 22.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.2

| style="color:blue"| 2.62

2005

| style="text-align:right;"| 48,060,577

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,113,332

| style="text-align:right;"| 683,422

| style="text-align:right;"| 429,910

| style="text-align:right;"| 23.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.9

| style="color:blue"| 2.74

2006

| style="text-align:right;"| 48,642,306

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,146,355

| style="text-align:right;"| 698,831

| style="text-align:right;"| 447,524

| style="text-align:right;"| 23.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.4

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.2

| style="color:blue"| 2.77

2007

| style="text-align:right;"| 49,264,665

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,170,206

| style="text-align:right;"| 690,859

| style="text-align:right;"| 479,347

| style="text-align:right;"| 23.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 14.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.7

| style="color:blue"| 2.77

2008

| style="text-align:right;"| 49,935,872

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,196,308

| style="text-align:right;"| 676,658

| style="text-align:right;"| 519,650

| style="text-align:right;"| 24.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 13.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.4

| style="color:blue"| 2.78

2009

| style="text-align:right;"| 50,653,813

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,197,835

| style="text-align:right;"| 644,046

| style="text-align:right;"| 553,789

| style="text-align:right;"| 23.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.9

| style="color:blue"| 2.74

2010

| style="text-align:right;"| 51,405,009

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,182,577

| style="text-align:right;"| 608,869

| style="text-align:right;"| 573,708

| style="text-align:right;"| 23.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.2

| style="color:blue"| 2.65

2011

| style="text-align:right;"| 52,217,038

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,194,399

| style="text-align:right;"| 572,658

| style="text-align:right;"| 621,741

| style="text-align:right;"| 22.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.9

| style="color:blue"| 2.64

2012

| style="text-align:right;"| 53,068,330

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,199,305

| style="text-align:right;"| 547,027

| style="text-align:right;"| 652,278

| style="text-align:right;"| 22.6

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.3

| style="color:blue"| 2.61

2013

| style="text-align:right;"| 53,940,104

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,195,484

| style="text-align:right;"| 529,404

| style="text-align:right;"| 666,080

| style="text-align:right;"| 22.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.3

| style="color:blue"| 2.56

2014

| style="text-align:right;"| 54,829,783

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,192,619

| style="text-align:right;"| 515,742

| style="text-align:right;"| 676,877

| style="text-align:right;"| 21.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.4

| style="text-align:right;"| 12.3

| style="color:blue"| 2.52

2015

| style="text-align:right;"| 55,710,675

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,177,128

| style="text-align:right;"| 513,781

| style="text-align:right;"| 663,347

| style="text-align:right;"| 21.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.9

| style="color:blue"| 2.45

2016

| style="text-align:right;"| 56,543,365

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,129,875

| style="text-align:right;"| 519,496

| style="text-align:right;"| 610,379

| style="text-align:right;"| 20.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.8

| style="color:blue"| 2.33

2017

| style="text-align:right;"| 57,366,323

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,119,165

| style="text-align:right;"| 523,259

| style="text-align:right;"| 595,906

| style="text-align:right;"| 19.5

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.4

| style="color:blue"| 2.28

2018

| style="text-align:right;"| 58,233,213

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,155,430

| style="text-align:right;"| 520,337

| style="text-align:right;"| 635,093

| style="text-align:right;"| 19.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.9

| style="color:blue"| 2.34

2019

| style="text-align:right;"| 59,131,136

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,184,110

| style="text-align:right;"| 522,734

| style="text-align:right;"| 661,376

| style="text-align:right;"| 20.0

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.2

| style="color:blue"| 2.38

2020

| style="text-align:right;"| 60,002,639

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,215,381

| style="text-align:right;"| 528,117

| style="color:blue"| 687,264

| style="text-align:right;"| 20.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.8

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.5

| style="color:blue"| 2.42

2021

| style="text-align:right;"| 60,641,542

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,223,452

| style="text-align:right;"| 675,121

| style="text-align:right;"| 548,331

| style="text-align:right;"| 20.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.0

| style="color:blue"| 2.42

2022

| style="text-align:right;"| 61,356,168

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,223,535

| style="text-align:right;"| 631,623

| style="text-align:right;"| 591,912

| style="text-align:right;"| 19.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 9.6

| style="color:blue"| 2.42

2023

| style="text-align:right;"| 62,180,391

| style="text-align:right;"| 1,222,387

| style="text-align:right;"| 540,620

| style="text-align:right;"| 681,767

| style="text-align:right;"| 19.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 11.0

| style="color:blue"| 2.42

2024

|style="color:blue"| 63,015,904

| style="color:blue"| 1,224,801

| style="text-align:right;"| 547,360

| style="text-align:right;"| 677,441

| style="text-align:right;"| 19.4

| style="text-align:right;"| 8.7

| style="text-align:right;"| 10.8

| style="color:blue"| 2.41

=Total fertility rates by province =

{{see also|List of South African provinces by fertility rate}}

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Provinces by average fertility rate, 2001–2026

!Province

!2021–2026

(est.)

{{flag|Limpopo}}

|3.03

{{flag|Eastern Cape}}

|2.87

{{flag|Northern Cape}}

|2.63

{{flag|KwaZulu-Natal}}

|2.53

{{flag|North West (South African province)}}

|2.52

{{flag|Mpumalanga}}

|2.27

23px Free State

|2.27

{{flag|Western Cape}}

|2.01

{{flag|Gauteng}}

|1.82

=United Nations Population Estimates=

The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. (Natural increase or decrease over a time period is the difference between that period's live births and deaths, before accounting for inward or outward migration.)

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; "
style="width:12%;"|Period

! style="width:11%;"|Live births per year

! style="width:11%;"|Deaths per year

! style="width:11%;"|Natural Increase per year

! style="width:11%;"|Crude Birth Rate
(per 1,000 per year)

! style="width:11%;"|Crude Death Rate
(per 1,000 per year)

! style="width:11%;"|Natural Increase
(per 1,000 per year)

! style="width:11%;"|Total Fertility Rate (over av'ge woman's life)

! style="width:11%;"|Infant Mortality Rate (per 100,000 live births)

1950–1955align="right"| 606,600align="right" | 292,400align="right" |+ 314,20042.120.7+ 21.86.05134
1955–1960align="right"| 669,400align="right" | 293,800align="right" |+ 375,60041.418.2+ 23.36.05121
1960–1965align="right"| 740,200align="right" | 304,600align="right" |+ 435,60040.616.7+ 23.96.00112
1965–1970align="right"| 810,600align="right" | 313,600align="right" |+ 497,00039.115.2+ 24.05.80103
1970–1975align="right"| 896,000align="right" | 315,400align="right" |+ 580,60037.913.3+ 24.65.5089
1975–1980align="right"| 967,400align="right" | 309,800align="right" |+ 657,60036.011.5+ 24.55.0571
1980–1985align="right"|1,099,200align="right" | 311,000align="right" |+ 788,20035.910.2+ 25.74.9056
1985–1990align="right"|1,147,400align="right" | 299,400align="right" |+ 848,00033.08.6+ 24.44.4046
1990–1995align="right"|1,074,600align="right" | 318,000align="right" |+ 756,60027.58.1+ 19.33.5141
1995–2000align="right"|1,026,600align="right" | 448,000align="right" |+ 578,60023.810.4+ 13.42.8847
2000–2005align="right"|1,051,600align="right" | 626,800align="right" |+ 424,80022.713.5+  9.22.6154
2005–2010align="right"|1,166,200align="right" | 671,400align="right" |+ 494,80023.513.6+ 10.02.6248
2010–2015align="right"|1,207,200align="right" | 557,200align="right" |+ 650,00022.610.5+ 12.22.5533
2015–2020align="right"|1,185,000align="right" | 546,000align="right" |+ 639,00020.79.5+ 11.12.4127
2020–2025align="right"|1,159,600align="right" | 573,200align="right" |+ 586,40019.09.4+  9.62.3124
2025–2030align="right"|1,143,400align="right" | 604,400align="right" |+ 539,00017.89.4+  8.42.2221
style="background: #FEFEFE; text-align=center"

| colspan="9" | Total Fertility Rate = average number of children over a woman's lifetime; Infant Mortality Rate per 100,000 live births

=Age and sex distribution=

{{See also|South African National Census of 2011}}

File:Rza-age-2011.svg

class="wikitable"
style="width:70px;"|Age group

! style="width:80px;"|Male

! style="width:30px|Female percent

! style="width:80px;"|Female

! style="width:80px;"|Total

! style="width:50px;"|Percent of RSA

style="text-align:right;"0–14

| style="background:lightcyan"| 7,969,880

| style="background:azure"| 49.6%

| style="background:lavenderblush"| 7,842,388

15,812,26831.3%
style="text-align:right;"15–64

| style="background:lightcyan"| 15,538,934

| style="background:snow"|51.8%

| style="background:lavenderblush"| 16,696,600

32,235,53463.7%
style="text-align:right;"65+

| style="background:lightcyan"| 1,006,222

| style="background:snow"| 51.8%

| style="background:lavenderblush"| 1,532,733

2,538,9555.0%
style="text-align:right;"

| style="background:#eee"| All ages

| style="background:lightblue"| 24,515,036

| style="background:mistyrose"| 51.5%

| style="background:pink"| 26,071,721

| style="background:#ddd"|50,586,757

| style="background:#eee"| 100%

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; width:60%"
style="width:10%;"| Age group

! style="width:7%;"| Male

! style="width:3%;"| Female percent

! style="width:7%;"| Female

! style="width:8%;"| Total

! style="width:3%;"| Percent of RSA

style="text-align:center"| under 5

| style="background:lightcyan"| 2,867,585

| style="background:azure"|49.6%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|2,817,867

| 5,685,452

| 11.0%

style="text-align:center"| 5–9

| style="background:lightcyan"| 2,425,181

| style="background:azure"|49.7%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|2,394,570

| 4,819,751

| 9.3%

style="text-align:center"| 10–14

| style="background:lightcyan"| 2,344,275

| style="background:azure"|49.0%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|2,250,611

| 4,594,886

| 8.9%

style="text-align:center"| 15–19

| style="background:lightcyan"| 2,498,572

| style="background:snow"|50.1%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|2,504,905

| 5,003,477

| 9.7%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 20–24

| style="background:lightcyan"|2,694,646

| style="background:azure"|49.9%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|2,679,896

| 5,374,542

| 10.4%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 25–29

| style="background:lightcyan"|2,542,682

| style="background:azure"|49.7%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|2,516,635

| 5,059,317

| 9.8%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 30–34

| style="background:lightcyan"|2,036,206

| style="background:azure"|49.5%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|1,992,804

| 4,029,010

| 7.8%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 35–39

| style="background:lightcyan"|1,709,347

| style="background:snow"|50.7%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|1,758,420

| 3,467,767

| 6.7%

style="text-align:center"| 40–44

| style="background:lightcyan"|1,402,328

| style="background:snow"|52.4%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|1,546,291

| 2,948,619

| 5.7%

style="text-align:center"| 45–49

| style="background:lightcyan"|1,195,740

| style="background:snow"|54.4%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|1,424,543

| 2,620,283

| 5.1%

style="text-align:center"| 50–54

| style="background:lightcyan"|1,011,349

| style="background:snow"|54.4%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|1,206,940

| 2,218,289

| 4.3%

style="text-align:center"| 55–59

| style="background:lightcyan"| 811,950

| style="background:snow"|54.8%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|985,458

| 1,797,408

| 3.5%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 60–64

| style="background:lightcyan"|612,364

| style="background:snow"|55.8%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|773,404

| 1,385,768

| 2.7%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 65–69

| style="background:lightcyan"|401,548

| style="background:snow"|58.1%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|556,256

| 957,804

| 1.9%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 70–74

| style="background:lightcyan"|293,498

| style="background:snow"|60.8%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|454,832

| 748,330

| 1.4%

style="background:Ivory"

| style="text-align:center"| 75–79

| style="background:lightcyan"|165,283

| style="background:snow"|65.7%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|315,984

| 481,267

| 0.9%

style="text-align:center"| 80–84

| style="background:lightcyan"|100,694

| style="background:snow"|68.8%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|222,222

| 322,916

| 0.6%

style="text-align:center"| 85-plus

| style="background:lightcyan"|75,543

| style="background:snow"|70.5%

| style="background:lavenderblush"|180,130

| 255,673

| 0.5%

style="text-align:center; background:#ddd;"| TOTAL

| style="background:lightblue;"|25,188,791

| style="background:mistyrose;"| 51.3%

| style="background:pink"| 26,581,769

| style="background:#ddd;"| 51,770,560

| style="background:#eee;"| 100%

class="wikitable"
style="width:70px;"|Number of children 0–14

! style="width:70pt;"|Number of women 15–49

! style="width:70px;"|Proportion

! style="width:70px;"|Fertility Rate

style="text-align:right;"15,812,26413,866,4891.142.35

=Age and race distribution=

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Mid-year population estimates for South Africa by population group and sex, 2020

rowspan="2" |Population Group

! colspan="2" |Male

! colspan="2" |Female

! colspan="2" |Total

Number

!% Distribution of Males

!Number

!% Distribution of Females

!Number

!% Distribution of Total

Black African

|23,519,474

|80.7

|24,634,253

|80.8

|48,153,727

|80.8

Coloured

|2,555,204

|8.8

|2,692,536

|8.8

|5,247,740

|8.8

Indian/Asian

|787,662

|2.7

|753,451

|2.5

|1,541,113

|2.6

White

|2,266,535

|7.8

|2,413,235

|7.9

|4,679,770

| 7.8

Total

|29,128,875

| 100.0

|30,493,475

|100.0

|59,622,350

| 100.0

{{See also|South African National Census of 2011}}

==Age distribution within each racial group==

===By generation===

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
rowspan=2 style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Age group

! colspan=2 style="background:honeydew;"|All races

! colspan=2 style="background:gainsboro;"|Black African

! colspan=2 style="background:#eee;"|Coloured

! colspan=2 style="background:white;"|White

! colspan=2 style="background:beige;"|Indian or other Asian

! colspan=2 style="background:aliceblue;"|Others

style="background:honeydew;"| #style="background:honeydew;"| %

! style="background:gainsboro;"| #

style="background:gainsboro;"| %

! style="background:#eee;"| #

style="background:#eee;"| %

! style="background:white;"| #

style="background:white;"| %

! style="background:beige;"| #

style="background:beige;"| %

! style="background:aliceblue;"| #

style="background:aliceblue;"| %
style="background:ghostwhite"

| style="text-align:center"|0–14

| 15,100,089

{{percentage bar|width=50|29.2}}

| 12,702,324

{{percentage bar|width=50|31.0}}

| 1,311,811

{{percentage bar|width=50|28.4}}

| 771,187

{{percentage bar|width=50|16.8}}

| 258,602

{{percentage bar|width=50|20.1}}

| 56,164

{{percentage bar|width=50|20.0}}
style="background:FloralWhite"

| style="text-align:center"|15–64

| 33,904,479

{{percentage bar|width=50|65.5}}

| 26,502,329

{{percentage bar|width=50|64.6}}

| 3,085,684

{{percentage bar|width=50|66.9}}

| 3,165,965

{{percentage bar|width=50|68.9}}

| 939,379

{{percentage bar|width=50|73.0}}

| 211,126

{{percentage bar|width=50|75.3}}
style="background:ghostwhite"

|style="text-align:center"|65-plus

| 2,765,992

{{percentage bar|width=50|5.3}}

| 1,796,285

{{percentage bar|width=50|4.4}}

| 217,906

{{percentage bar|width=50|4.7}}

| 649,686

{{percentage bar|width=50|14.2}}

| 88,949

{{percentage bar|width=50|6.9}}

| 13,164

{{percentage bar|width=50|4.7}}
style="background:honeydew"

| style="text-align:center"|All ages

51,770,560{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:gainsboro;"|41,000,938

style="background:gainsboro;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:#eee;"|4,615,401

style="background:#eee;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:white;"|4,586,838

style="background:white;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:beige;"|1,286,930

style="background:beige;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:aliceblue;"|280,454

style="background:aliceblue;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}
style="text-align:center" | % of SA

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|100}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|79.20}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|8.92}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|8.86}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|2.49}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|0.54}}

Racial composition of each age group in 2015 (estimates)

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan=2 style="background:#f0f0f0; width:60px"|Age group

! colspan=2 style="background:honeydew;"|All races

! colspan=2 style="background:gainsboro;"|Black African

! colspan=2 style="background:#eee;"|Coloured

! colspan=2 style="background:white;"|White

! colspan=2 style="background:beige;"|Indian or other Asian

style="background:honeydew;"| #style="background:honeydew;"| %

! style="background:gainsboro;"| #

style="background:gainsboro;"| %

! style="background:#eee;"| #

style="background:#eee;"| %

! style="background:white;"| #

style="background:white;"| %

! style="background:beige;"| #

style="background:beige;"| %
style="background:ghostwhite"

| style="text-align:center"|0–14

| 16,612,043

{{percentage bar|width=50|30.23}}

| 14,244,663

{{percentage bar|width=50|32.21}}

| 1,288,601

{{percentage bar|width=50|26.66}}

| 789,492

{{percentage bar|width=50|17.41}}

| 289,285

{{percentage bar|width=50|21.24}}
style="background:FloralWhite"

| style="text-align:center"|15–64

| 35,465,499

{{percentage bar|width=50|64.53}}

| 28,170,797

{{percentage bar|width=50|63.69}}

| 3,299,771

{{percentage bar|width=50|68.28}}

| 3,026,475

{{percentage bar|width=50|66.75}}

| 968,649

{{percentage bar|width=50|71.12}}
style="background:ghostwhite"

|style="text-align:center"|65-plus

| 2,879,378

{{percentage bar|width=50|5.24}}

| 1,812,535

{{percentage bar|width=50|4.10}}

| 244,544

{{percentage bar|width=50|5.06}}

| 718,041

{{percentage bar|width=50|15.84}}

| 104.068

{{percentage bar|width=50|7.64}}
style="background:honeydew"

| style="text-align:center"|All ages

54,956,920100%

| style="background:gainsboro;"|44,227,995

style="background:gainsboro;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:#eee;"|4,832,916

style="background:#eee;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:white;"|4,534,008

style="background:white;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}

| style="background:beige;"|1,362,002

style="background:beige;"|{{percentage bar|width=50|100}}
style="text-align:center" | % of SA

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|100}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|80.48}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|8.79}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|8.25}}

|colspan=2|{{percentage bar|2.48}}

===By five-year cohorts===

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan=2 style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Age group

! colspan=2 style="background:honeydew;"|All races

! colspan=2 style="background:gainsboro;"|Black African

! colspan=2 style="background:#eee;"|Coloured

! colspan=2 style="background:white;"|White

! colspan=2 style="background:beige;"|Indian or other Asian

style="background:honeydew;"| #style="background:honeydew;"| %

! style="background:gainsboro;"| #

style="background:gainsboro;"| %

! style="background:#eee;"| #

style="background:#eee;"| %

! style="background:white;"| #

style="background:white;"| %

! style="background:beige;"| #

style="background:beige;"| %
style="text-align:center" |under 5

|5,936,350

10.80%

|5,156,508

11.66%

|426,156

8.82%

|254,978

5.62%

|98,708

7.25%
style="text-align:center" | 5 to 9

|5,537,225

10.08%

|4,746,115

10.73%

|430,666

8.91%

|263,378

5.81%

|97,065

7.13%
style="text-align:center" | 10 to 14

|5,138,468

9.35%

|4,342,040

9.82%

|431,779

8.93%

|271,136

5.98%

|93,512

6.87%
style="text-align:center" | 15 to 19

|5,124,373

9.32%

|4,292,220

9.70%

|437,412

9.05%

|295,733

6.52%

|99,007

7.27%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 20 to 24

|5,302,246

9.65%

|4,461,515

10.09%

|426,013

8.81%

|306,415

6.76%

|108,304

7.95%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 25 to 29

|5,232,254

9.52%

|4,437,570

10.03%

|389,429

8.06%

|287,485

6.34%

|117,771

8.65%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 30 to 34

|4,307,693

7.84%

|3,535,173

7.99%

|366,955

7.59%

|281,358

6.21%

|124,206

9.12%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 35 to 39

|3,774,921

6.87%

|3,001,989

6.79%

|376,488

7.79%

|279,439

6.16%

|117,005

8.59%
style="text-align:center" | 40 to 44

|3,204,952

5.83%

|2,444,972

5.53%

|368,886

7.63%

|288,370

6.36%

|102,725

7.54%
style="text-align:center" | 45 to 49

|2,738,580

4.98%

|2,004,009

4.53%

|307,363

6.36%

|335,434

7.40%

|91,774

6.74%
style="text-align:center" | 50 to 54

|2,297,586

4.18%

|1,619,249

3.66%

|264,593

5.47%

|332,977

7.34%

|80,767

5.93%
style="text-align:center" | 55 to 59

|1,942,942

3.54%

|1,334,800

3.02%

|209,933

4.34%

|328,999

7.26%

|69,210

5.08%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 60 to 64

|1,539,953

2.80%

|1,039,301

2.35%

|152,698

3.16%

|290,075

6.40%

|57,879

4.25%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 65 to 69

|1,153,159

2.10%

|737,581

1.67%

|105,403

2.18%

|265,818

5.86%

|44,357

3.26%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 70 to 74

|805,114

1.46%

|511,723

1.16%

|65,465

1.35%

|198,876

4.39%

|28,949

2.13%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 75 to 79

|502,005

0.91%

|313,800

0.71%

|41,978

0.87%

|128,675

2.84%

|17,552

1.29%
style="text-align:center" | 80-plus

|419,100

0.76%

|249,431

0.56%

|31,698

0.66%

|124,672

2.75%

|13,210

0.97%
style="background:honeydew"

| style="text-align:center"|All ages

54,956,920100%

| style="background:gainsboro;"|44,227,995

style="background:gainsboro;"|(100%)

| style="background:#eee;"|4,832,916

style="background:#eee;"|(100%)

| style="background:white;"|4,534,008

style="background:white;"|(100%)

| style="background:beige;"|1,362,002

style="background:beige;"|(100%)
style="text-align:center" | % of SA100%|80.48%|8.79%|8.25%|2.48%

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan=2 style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Age group

! rowspan=2 style="background:honeydew;"|All races

! colspan=2 style="background:gainsboro;"|Black African

! colspan=2 style="background:#eee;"|Coloured

! colspan=2 style="background:white;"|White

! colspan=2 style="background:beige;"|Indian or other Asian

style="background:gainsboro;"| #style="background:gainsboro;"| %

! style="background:#eee;"| #

style="background:#eee;"| %

! style="background:white;"| #

style="background:white;"| %

! style="background:beige;"| #

style="background:beige;"| %
style="text-align:center" |under 5

|5,936,350

|5,156,508

86.86%

|426,156

7.18%

|254,978

4.30%

|98,708

1.66%
style="text-align:center" | 5 to 9

|5,537,225

|4,746,115

85.71%

|430,666

7.78%

|263,378

4.76%

|97,065

1.75%
style="text-align:center" | 10 to 14

|5,138,468

|4,342,040

84.50%

|431,779

8.40%

|271,136

5.28%

|93,512

1.82%
style="text-align:center" | 15 to 19

|5,124,373

|4,292,220

83.76%

|437,412

8.54%

|295,733

5.77%

|99,007

1.93%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 20 to 24

|5,302,246

|4,461,515

84.14%

|426,013

8.03%

|306,415

5.78%

|108,304

2.04%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 25 to 29

|5,232,254

|4,437,570

84.81%

|389,429

7.44%

|287,485

5.49%

|117,771

2.25%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 30 to 34

|4,307,693

|3,535,173

82.07%

|366,955

8.52%

|281,358

6.53%

|124,206

2.88%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 35 to 39

|3,774,921

|3,001,989

79.52%

|376,488

9.97%

|279,439

7.40%

|117,005

3.10%
style="text-align:center" | 40 to 44

|3,204,952

|2,444,972

76.29%

|368,886

11.51%

|288,370

9.00%

|102,725

3.21%
style="text-align:center" | 45 to 49

|2,738,580

|2,004,009

73.18%

|307,363

11.22%

|335,434

12.25%

|91,774

3.35%
style="text-align:center" | 50 to 54

|2,297,586

|1,619,249

70.48%

|264,593

11.52%

|332,977

14.49%

|80,767

3.52%
style="text-align:center" | 55 to 59

|1,942,942

|1,334,800

68.70%

|209,933

10.80%

|328,999

16.93%

|69,210

3.56%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 60 to 64

|1,539,953

|1,039,301

67.49%

|152,698

9.92%

|290,075

18.84%

|57,879

3.76%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 65 to 69

|1,153,159

|737,581

63.96%

|105,403

9.14%

|265,818

23.05%

|44,357

3.85%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 70 to 74

|805,114

|511,723

63.56%

|65,465

8.13%

|198,876

24.70%

|28,949

3.60%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 75 to 79

|502,005

|313,800

62.51%

|41,978

8.36%

|128,675

25.63%

|17,552

3.50%
style="text-align:center" | 80-plus

|419,100

|249,431

59.52%

|31,698

7.56%

|124,672

29.75%

|13,210

3.15%
style="background:honeydew"

| style="text-align:center"|All ages

54,956,920

| style="background:gainsboro;"|44,227,995

style="background:gainsboro;"|

| style="background:#eee;"|4,832,916

style="background:#eee;"|

| style="background:white;"|4,534,008

style="background:white;"|

| style="background:beige;"|1,362,002

style="background:beige;"|
style="text-align:center" | % of SA|80.48%|8.79%|8.25%|2.48%

==Racial composition of each age group in 2020 (estimates) ==

Source:http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022020.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
rowspan=2 style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Age group

! colspan=2 style="background:honeydew;"|All races

! colspan=2 style="background:gainsboro;"|Black African

! colspan=2 style="background:#eee;"|Coloured

! colspan=2 style="background:white;"|White

! colspan=2 style="background:beige;"|Indian or other Asian

style="background:honeydew;"| #style="background:honeydew;"| %

! style="background:gainsboro;"| #

style="background:gainsboro;"| %

! style="background:#eee;"| #

style="background:#eee;"| %

! style="background:white;"| #

style="background:white;"| %

! style="background:beige;"| #

style="background:beige;"| %
style="background:ghostwhite"

| style="text-align:center"|0–14

|17,050,955

28.60%

|14,605,416

30.33%

|1,408,553

26.84%

|742,913

15.87%

|294,073

19.08%
style="background:FloralWhite"

| style="text-align:center"|15–64

|38,941,221

65.31%

|31,368,174

65.14%

|3,487,284

66.45%

|2,988,634

63.86%

|1,097,129

71.19%
style="background:ghostwhite"

|style="text-align:center"|65-plus

|3,630,174

6.09%

|2,180,137

4.53%

|351,903

6.71%

|948,223

20.26%

|149,911

9.73%
style="background:honeydew"

| style="text-align:center"|All ages

59,622,350100%

| style="background:gainsboro;"|48,153,727

style="background:gainsboro;"|(100%)

| style="background:#eee;"|5,247,740

style="background:#eee;"|(100%)

| style="background:white;"|4,679,770

style="background:white;"|(100%)

| style="background:beige;"|1,541,113

style="background:beige;"|(100%)
style="text-align:center" | % of SA100%|80.76%|8.80%|7.85%|2.58%

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
rowspan=2 style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Age group

! colspan=2 style="background:honeydew;"|All races

! colspan=2 style="background:gainsboro;"|Black African

! colspan=2 style="background:#eee;"|Coloured

! colspan=2 style="background:white;"|White

! colspan=2 style="background:beige;"|Indian or other Asian

style="background:honeydew;"| #style="background:honeydew;"| %

! style="background:gainsboro;"| #

style="background:gainsboro;"| %

! style="background:#eee;"| #

style="background:#eee;"| %

! style="background:white;"| #

style="background:white;"| %

! style="background:beige;"| #

style="background:beige;"| %
style="text-align:center" |under 5

|5,743,450

9.63%

|4,940,751

10.26%

|476,322

9.08%

|226,715

4.84%

|99,662

6.47%
style="text-align:center" | 5 to 9

|5,715,952

9.59%

|4,890,895

10.16%

|475,518

9.06%

|249,991

5.34%

|99,548

6.46%
style="text-align:center" | 10 to 14

|5,591,553

9.38%

|4,773,770

9.91%

|456,713

8.70%

|266,207

5.69%

|94,863

6.16%
style="text-align:center" | 15 to 19

|4,774,579

8.01%

|4,031,704

8.37%

|411,056

7.83%

|243,267

5.20%

|88,552

5.75%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 20 to 24

|4,823,367

8.09%

|4,043,432

8.40%

|423,180

8.06%

|254,465

5.44%

|102,290

6.64%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 25 to 29

|5,420,754

9.09%

|4,586,780

9.53%

|435,746

8.30%

|267,654

5.72%

|130,574

8.47%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 30 to 34

|5,641,750

9.46%

|4,769,499

9.90%

|431,274

8.22%

|296,160

6.33%

|144,817

9.40%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 35 to 39

|4,798,293

8.05%

|3,962,780

8.23%

|381,858

7.28%

|308,959

6.60%

|144,696

9.39%
style="text-align:center" | 40 to 44

|3,733,942

6.26%

|2,988,999

6.21%

|316,611

6.03%

|306,414

6.55%

|121,918

7.91%
style="text-align:center" | 45 to 49

|3,169,648

5.32%

|2,393,317

4.97%

|312,665

5.96%

|352,648

7.54%

|111,018

7.20%
style="text-align:center" | 50 to 54

|2,571,263

4.31%

|1,834,191

3.81%

|302,224

5.76%

|337,839

7.22%

|97,009

6.29%
style="text-align:center" | 55 to 59

|2,211,309

3.71%

|1,546,674

3.21%

|264,967

5.05%

|314,423

6.72%

|85,245

5.53%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 60 to 64

|1,796,316

3.01%

|1,210,798

2.51%

|207,703

3.96%

|306,805

6.56%

|71,010

4.61%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 65 to 69

|1,408,665

2.36%

|918,604

1.91%

|150,941

2.88%

|281,318

6.01%

|57,802

3.75%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 70 to 74

|1,007,174

1.69%

|619,106

1.29%

|97,127

1.85%

|248,673

5.31%

|42,268

2.74%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 75 to 79

|637,062

1.07%

|365,409

0.76%

|56,822

1.08%

|188,123

4.02%

|26,708

1.73%
style="text-align:center" | 80-plus

|577,273

0.97%

|277,018

0.58%

|47,013

0.90%

|230,109

4.92%

|23,133

1.50%
style="background:honeydew"

| style="text-align:center"|All ages

59,622,350100%

| style="background:gainsboro;"| 48,153,727

style="background:gainsboro;"|(100%)

| style="background:#eee;"| 5,247,740

style="background:#eee;"|(100%)

| style="background:white;"| 4,679,770

style="background:white;"|(100%)

| style="background:beige;"| 1,541,113

style="background:beige;"|(100%)
style="text-align:center" | % of SA100%|80.76%|8.80%|7.85%|2.58%

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
rowspan=2 style="background:#f0f0f0;"|Age group

! rowspan=2 style="background:honeydew;"|All races

! colspan=2 style="background:gainsboro;"|Black African

! colspan=2 style="background:#eee;"|Coloured

! colspan=2 style="background:white;"|White

! colspan=2 style="background:beige;"|Indian or other Asian

style="background:gainsboro;"| #style="background:gainsboro;"| %

! style="background:#eee;"| #

style="background:#eee;"| %

! style="background:white;"| #

style="background:white;"| %

! style="background:beige;"| #

style="background:beige;"| %
style="text-align:center" |under 5

|5,743,450

|4,940,751

86.02%

|476,322

8.29%

|226,715

3.95%

|99,662

1.74%
style="text-align:center" | 5 to 9

|5,715,952

|4,890,895

85.57%

|475,518

8.32%

|249,991

4.37%

|99,548

1.74%
style="text-align:center" | 10 to 14

|5,591,553

|4,773,770

85.37%

|456,713

8.17%

|266,207

4.76%

|94,863

1.70%
style="text-align:center" | 15 to 19

|4,774,579

|4,031,704

84.44%

|411,056

8.61%

|243,267

5.10%

|88,552

1.85%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 20 to 24

|4,823,367

|4,043,432

83.83%

|423,180

8.77%

|254,465

5.28%

|102,290

2.12%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 25 to 29

|5,420,754

|4,586,780

84.62%

|435,746

8.04%

|267,654

4.94%

|130,574

2.41%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 30 to 34

|5,641,750

|4,769,499

84.54%

|431,274

7.64%

|296,160

5.25%

|144,817

2.57%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 35 to 39

|4,798,293

|3,962,780

82.59%

|381,858

7.96%

|308,959

6.44%

|144,696

3.02%
style="text-align:center" | 40 to 44

|3,733,942

|2,988,999

80.05%

|316,611

8.48%

|306,414

8.21%

|121,918

3.27%
style="text-align:center" | 45 to 49

|3,169,648

|2,393,317

75.51%

|312,665

9.86%

|352,648

11.13%

|111,018

3.50%
style="text-align:center" | 50 to 54

|2,571,263

|1,834,191

71.33%

|302,224

11.75%

|337,839

13.14%

|97,009

3.77%
style="text-align:center" | 55 to 59

|2,211,309

|1,546,674

69.94%

|264,967

11.98%

|314,423

14.22%

|85,245

3.85%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 60 to 64

|1,796,316

|1,210,798

67.40%

|207,703

11.56%

|306,805

17.08%

|71,010

3.95%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 65 to 69

|1,408,665

|918,604

65.21%

|150,941

10.72%

|281,318

19.97%

|57,802

4.10%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 70 to 74

|1,007,174

|619,106

61.47%

|97,127

9.64%

|248,673

24.69%

|42,268

4.20%
style="background:ivory"

| style="text-align:center" | 75 to 79

|637,062

|365,409

57.36%

|56,822

8.92%

|188,123

29.53%

|26,708

4.19%
style="text-align:center" | 80-plus

|577,273

|277,018

47.99%

|47,013

8.14%

|230,109

39.86%

|23,133

4.01%
style="background:honeydew"

| style="text-align:center"|All ages

59,622,350

| style="background:gainsboro;"| 48,153,727

style="background:gainsboro;"|

| style="background:#eee;"| 5,247,740

style="background:#eee;"|

| style="background:white;"| 4,679,770

style="background:white;"|

| style="background:beige;"| 1,541,113

style="background:beige;"|
style="text-align:center" | % of SA|80.76%|8.80%|7.85%|2.58%

=Demographic and Health Surveys=

Fertility rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):{{cite web|url=http://www.dhsprogram.com/|title=The DHS Program - Quality information to plan, monitor and improve population, health, and nutrition programs|website=Dhsprogram.com|access-date=29 August 2017}}

class="wikitable"
rowspan=2| Year

! colspan=2| Total

! colspan=2| Urban

! colspan=2| Rural

CBRTFR

! CBR

TFR

! CBR

TFR
1998

| style="text-align:right;"| 21.90

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.90 (2.3)

| style="text-align:right;"| 19.2

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.25 (1.8)

| style="text-align:right;"| 25.4

| style="text-align:right;"| 3.92 (2.9)

2016

| style="text-align:right;"| 22.3

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.6 (2.0)

| style="text-align:right;"| 21.9

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.4 (1.9)

| style="text-align:right;"| 23.1

| style="text-align:right;"| 3.1 (2.4)

Fertility rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) by ethnic group.

class="wikitable"
style="width:50pt;"| Year

! style="width:50pt;"| Total

! style="width:50pt;"| Black African

! style="width:50pt;"| White

! style="width:50pt;"| Coloured

! style="width:50pt;"| Indian/Asian

1998

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.9 (2.3)

| style="text-align:right;"| 3.1 (2.4)

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.9 (1.5)

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.5 (2.1)

| style="text-align:right;"|

2016

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.6 (2.0)

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.7 (2.1)

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.5 (1.2)

| style="text-align:right;"| 2.5 (1.9)

| style="text-align:right;"| 1.7 (1.6)

=Life expectancy=

Life expectancy at birth from 1950 to 2020 (UN World Population Prospects):{{cite web|title=World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations|url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/|access-date=2017-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919061238/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/|archive-date=19 September 2016|url-status=dead}}

File:Life expectancy by WBG -South Africa -diff.png

{{Image frame

| caption= {{legend|darkgreen|Life expectancy in South Africa 1950–2020 (per 5 yr clusters)}}

| pos = top

| content = {{Graph:Chart

| width=600

| height=200

| xAxisTitle=Year (Period)

| yAxisTitle=Life expectancy (years)

| y1Title = All groups

| type=line

| legend =

| showSymbols=

| colors=darkgreeen, darkred

| xAxisAngle=-45

| showValues=offset:5, fontcolor:darkpurple

| x=1950–1955, 1955–1960, 1960–1965, 1965–1970, 1970–1975, 1975–1980, 1980–1985, 1985–1990, 1990–1995, 1995–2000, 2000–2005, 2005–2010, 2010–2015, 2015–2020

| y= 48.5, 51.3, 53.0, 54.8, 56.7, 57.3, 58.4, 61.0, 62.3, 59.2, 53.8, 53.1, 59.5, 63.7

}}

}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Period

!Life expectancy
(years)

1950–1955

| 48.5

1955–1960

|{{increase}} 51.3

1960–1965

|{{increase}} 53.0

1965–1970

|{{increase}} 54.8

1970–1975

|{{increase}} 56.7

1975–1980

|{{increase}} 57.3

1980–1985

|{{increase}} 58.4

1985–1990

|{{increase}} 61.0

1990–1995

|{{increase}} 62.3

1995–2000

|{{decrease}} 59.2

2000–2005

|{{decrease}} 53.8

2005–2010

|{{decrease}} 53.1

2010–2015

|{{increase}} 59.5

2015–2020

|{{increase}} 63.7

{{Image frame

| caption= {{legend|darkgreen|Life expectancy in South Africa 1950–2021 (per 5 yr clusters)}}{{Cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%2520(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/4_Mortality/WPP2022_MORT_F05_1_LIFE_EXPECTANCY_BY_AGE_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=docs.google.com|title= Life Expectancy at Exact Age x (ex) - Both Sexes (XLSX, 172.2 MB)

}} taken from {{Cite web |title=World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Mortality/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=population.un.org}}

| pos = top

| content = {{Graph:Chart

| width=750

| height=400

| xAxisTitle=Age in Yrs

| yAxisTitle= Number of Survivors

| type=line

| legend =

| xAxisAngle=-45

| showValues=offset:5, fontcolor:darkpurple

| x= 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100+

| y1Title = 1950

| y1= 85626, 77017, 74543, 73001, 71109, 68484, 65422, 62035, 58282, 54241, 49877, 44860, 39162, 32237, 24371, 16383, 9399, 4151, 1268, 221, 21

| y2Title = 1955

| y2 = 88160, 81400, 79374, 78072, 76422, 74121, 71420, 68375, 64916, 61081, 56819, 51813, 46012, 38811, 30261, 21092, 12759, 6098, 2076, 414, 45

| y3Title= 1960

| y3 = 90298, 85273, 83695, 82639, 81231, 79243, 76879, 74148, 70949, 67285, 63085, 58036, 52071, 44586, 35518, 25429, 15970, 8073, 2971, 653, 77

| y4Title= 1965

| y4= 90981, 86413, 84958, 83975, 82654, 80793, 78574, 75996, 72952, 69417, 65315, 60334, 54386, 46821, 37559, 27203, 17356, 8974, 3409, 779, 94

| y5Title = 1970

| y5 = 91520, 87347, 85999, 85083, 83840, 82097, 80026, 77599, 74710, 71322, 67333, 62440, 56540, 48962, 39560, 28933, 18763, 9933, 3902, 935, 118

| y6Title = 1975

| y6 = 92209, 88737, 87580, 86777, 85651, 84064, 82184, 79965, 77271, 74051, 70190, 65359, 59447, 51773, 42155, 31144, 20493, 11118, 4522, 1139, 152

| y7Title = 1980

| y7 = 93134, 90511, 89590, 88923, 87936, 86530, 84852, 82851, 80379, 77328, 73570, 68787, 62817, 54988, 45083, 33635, 22424, 12408, 5207, 1372, 194

| y8Title = 1985

| y8 = 94447, 92578, 91889, 91365, 90533, 89329, 87888, 86125, 83895, 81055, 77402, 72642, 66641, 58577, 48253, 36258, 24402, 13675, 5844, 1583, 231

| y9Title = 1990

| y9 = 95309, 93897, 93344, 92898, 92131, 90992, 89568, 87800, 85499, 82541, 78709, 73692, 67406, 59249, 48798, 36735, 24754, 13888, 5944, 1615, 236

| y10Title = 1995

| y10 = 95420, 93841, 93234, 92744, 91900, 90617, 88961, 86857, 84191, 80827, 76621, 71292, 64738, 56518, 46480, 34928, 23428, 13030, 5503, 1464, 207

| y11Title = 2000

| y11 = 95423, 93117, 92588, 92202, 91314, 88987, 84954, 80176, 75516, 71071, 66360, 61175, 55199, 48559, 40983, 32340, 23182, 14207, 6914, 2287, 440

| y12Title = 2005

| y12 = 94813, 92178, 91334, 90899, 89991, 87429, 82125, 75032, 68234, 62185, 56711, 51325, 45787, 39643, 33279, 26563, 19277, 11879, 5814, 1938, 377

| y13Title = 2010

| y13 = 96487, 94690, 94098, 93592, 92759, 90864, 87343, 82344, 76740, 71213, 65698, 60087, 54041, 47245, 39592, 31567, 23077, 14480, 7220, 2472, 498

| y14Title = 2015

| y14 = 97224, 96112, 95798, 95460, 94733, 93377, 91214, 88343, 84784, 80613, 75879, 70329, 63901, 56303, 47512, 37631, 27615, 17450, 9023, 3359, 796

| y15Title = 2020

| y15 = 97891, 97154, 96918, 96646, 95995, 94845, 93113, 90880, 88097, 84680, 80259, 74648, 67338, 58419, 47860, 36638, 25074, 15497, 7890, 3110, 850

| y16Title = 2021

| y16 = 97334, 96493, 96228, 95919, 95197, 93882, 91942, 89497, 86464, 82706, 77696, 71288, 62754, 52887, 41521, 29630, 18496, 9951, 4128, 1201, 213

}}

}}

{{clear}}

Ethnic groups

{{main|Ethnic groups in South Africa}}

File:South Africa 2011 dominant population group map (hex cells).svg

{{Pie chart

| thumb = right under

| caption = Ethnic groups South Africa (1911)

| other =

| label1 = Black African

| value1 = 67

| color1 = Red

| label2 = White

| value2 = 21

| color2 = Blue

| label3 = Coloured

| value3 = 9

| color3 = Purple

| label4 = Indian

| value4 = 3

| color4 = Yellow

}}

{{Pie chart

| thumb = right under

| caption = Racial groups South Africa (2022)

| label1 = Black African

| value1 = 81.4

| color1 = Red

| label2 = White

| value2 = 7.3

| color2 = Blue

| label3 = Coloured

| value3 = 8.2

| color3 = Purple

| label4 = Indian

| value4 = 2.7

| color4 = Yellow

|label5=Other|value5=0.4|color5=White}}

Statistics South Africa asks people to describe themselves in the census in terms of five racial population groups.{{cite news|last=Lehohla|first=Pali|title=Debate over race and censuses not peculiar to SA|url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/news_archive/05may2005_1.asp|date=5 May 2005|newspaper=Business Report|access-date=25 August 2013|quote=Others pointed out that the repeal of the Population Registration Act in 1991 removed any legal basis for specifying 'race'. The Identification Act of 1997 makes no mention of race. On the other hand, the Employment Equity Act speaks of 'designated groups' being 'black people, women and people with disabilities'. The Act defines 'black' as referring to 'Africans, coloureds and Indians'. Apartheid and the racial identification which underpinned it explicitly linked race with differential access to resources and power. If the post-apartheid order was committed to remedying this, race would have to be included in surveys and censuses, so that progress in eradicating the consequences of apartheid could be measured and monitored. This was the reasoning that led to a 'self-identifying' question about 'race' or 'population group' in both the 1996 and 2001 population censuses, and in Statistics SA's household survey programme.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814143522/http://www.statssa.gov.za/news_archive/05may2005_1.asp|archive-date=14 August 2007}} The 2011 census figures for these groups were African at 80.2%, White at 8.4%, Coloured at 8.8%, Indian/Asian at 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified at 0.5%.{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa/|title= Africa :: SOUTH AFRICA|date= 2 November 2022|publisher= CIA The World Factbook}}

The white percentage of the population has sharply declined. The first census in South Africa in 1911 showed that whites made up 22% of the population. This declined to 16% in 1980,{{Cite book | author=((Study Commission on U.S. Policy toward Southern Africa (U.S.) )) | title = South Africa: time running out : the report of the Study Commission on U.S. Policy Toward Southern Africa | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sq43lnbklEUC&pg=PA42 | publisher=University of California Press | year = 1981 | page = 42 | isbn = 0-520-04547-5}} 8.9% in 2011 and 7.65% in 2022.{{cite book |title=Census 2011: Census in brief |url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf|publisher=Statistics South Africa |location=Pretoria |year=2012 |isbn=9780621413885}}{{rp|21}} Coloured South Africans replaced Whites as the largest minority group around 2010.

File:South_Africa_2011_Black_African_population_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Blacks: 50,486,856 (81.45%)

File:South_Africa_2011_Coloured_population_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Coloureds: 5,052,349 (8.15%)

File:South_Africa_2011_White_population_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Whites: 4,504,252 (7.30%)

File:South_Africa_2011_Indian_or_Asian_population_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Indians: 1,697,506 (2.74%)

Languages

{{Main|Languages of South Africa}}

South Africa has twelve official languages:https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}} isiZulu 24.4%, isiXhosa 16.3%, Afrikaans 10.6%, English 8.7%, Sepedi 10.0%, Setswana 8.3%, Sesotho 7.8%, Xitsonga 4.7%, siSwati 2.8%, Tshivenda 2.5%, isiNdebele 1.7% and South African Sign Language.{{cite press release |url=https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/na-approves-south-african-sign-language-12th-official-language#:~:text=The%20Committee%20noted%20that%20the,Board%20Act%2059%20of%201995.|title=The NA approves South African Sign Language as the 12th official language}}

In this regard, it is third only to Bolivia and India in number. While all the languages are formally equal, some languages are spoken more than others. According to the 2022 census, the three most spoken languages in the household are Zulu (24.4%), Xhosa (16.3%), and Afrikaans (10.6%).

Between 1996 and 2022, the proportion of Afrikaans speakers declined from 14.5% to 10.6% and English held steady at 8.7%, whle isiZulu grew from 22.8% to 24.4%, and Xhosa declined from 17.9% to 16.3%https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}

The country also recognises several unofficial languages, including Sekholokoe, Fanagalo, Khwe, Lobedu, Nama, Northern Ndebele, Phuthi and San.{{cite web|url=http://mediaclub.co.za/landstatic/80-languages|title=The languages of South Africa|date=December 2011|website=Media Club South Africa|publisher=Brand South Africa|access-date=24 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041236/http://mediaclub.co.za/landstatic/80-languages|url-status=dead}} These unofficial languages may be used in certain official uses in limited areas where it has been determined that these languages are prevalent. Nevertheless, their populations are not such that they require nationwide recognition.

Many of the "unofficial languages" of the San and Khoikhoi people contain regional dialects stretching northwards into Namibia and Botswana, and elsewhere. These people, who are a physically distinct population from other Africans, have their own cultural identity based on their hunter-gatherer societies. They have been marginalised to a great extent, and many of their languages are in danger of becoming extinct.

Many white South Africans also speak other European languages, such as Portuguese (also spoken by black Angolans and Mozambicans), German, Serbian and Greek, while some Indians and other Asians in South Africa speak South Asian languages, such as Bhojpuri, Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu and Telugu. Although many South Africans are of Huguenot (French) origin, South African French is spoken by fewer than 10,000 individuals country-wide. Congolese French is also spoken in South Africa by migrants.

The primary sign language of deaf South Africans is South African Sign Language. Other sign languages among indigenous peoples are also used.

File:South_Africa_2011_Zulu_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Zulu language

File:South_Africa_2011_Xhosa_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Xhosa language

File:South_Africa_2011_Afrikaans_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Afrikaans language

File:South_Africa_2011_English_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|English language

File:South_Africa_2011_Northern_Sotho_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Pedi language

File:South_Africa_2011_Tswana_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Tswana language

File:South_Africa_2011_Sotho_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Sotho language

File:South_Africa_2011_Tsonga_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Tsonga language

File:South_Africa_2011_Swazi_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Swazi language

File:South_Africa_2011_Venda_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Venda language

File:South_Africa_2011_Ndebele_speakers_proportion_map.svg|alt=|Southern Ndebele language

=By ethnicity=

In 2011, the first language was Zulu for 28.1% of Black South African residents, Xhosa for 19.8%, Sepedi for 11.2%, Tswana for 9.7%, Sesotho for 9.3%, Tsonga for 5.5%, siSwati for 3.1%, Venda for 2.9%, English for 2.8%, Southern Ndebele for 2.6%, Afrikaans for 1.5%, while 3.4% had another first language.{{cite web|title=Community profiles > Census 2011 |url=http://interactive.statssa.gov.za/superweb |publisher=Statistics South Africa Superweb |access-date=21 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930103145/http://interactive.statssa.gov.za/superweb/ |archive-date=30 September 2013}}

Among whites, Afrikaans was the first language for 59.1% of the population, compared to 35.0% for English. Other languages accounted for the remaining 5.9%.

Religion

{{outdated section|cite the 2011 census, not 2001|date=September 2020}}

{{Pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Religion in South Africa (2022 census){{Cite web|url=https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf|title=2022 South African Census}}

|label1 = Christianity

|value1 = 85.3

|color1 = DodgerBlue

|label2 = Traditional African religions

|value2 = 7.8

|color2 = #e70013

|label3 = Islam

|value3 = 1.6

|color3 = Green

|label4 = Hinduism

|value4 = 1.1

|color4 = #FF671F

|label5 = Judaism

|value5 = 0.1

|color5 = #0038b8

|label6 = Atheism

|value6 = 0.1

|color6 = white

|label7 = Agnosticism

|value7 = 0.1

|color7 = #808080

|label8 = Other

|value8 = 1

|color8 = purple

|label9 = No religious affiliation

|value9 = 2.9

|color9 = Black

}}

According to the 2022 national census, Christians accounted for 85.3% of the population. This includes{{when|date=October 2023}} Protestant (36.6%), Zionist Christian (11.1%), Pentecostal/Charismatic (8.2%), Roman Catholic (7.1%), Methodist (6.8%), Dutch Reformed (6.7%), Anglican (3.8%); members of other Christian churches accounted for another 36% of the population. Muslims accounted for 1.5% of the population, Other 2.3%, and 1.4% were Unspecified and None 15.1%.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Muslims are largely found among the Coloured and Indian ethnic groups. They have been joined by black or white South African converts as well as immigrants from other parts of Africa. South African Muslims claim that their faith is the fastest-growing religion of conversion in the country, with the number of black Muslims growing sixfold, from 12,000 in 1991 to 74,700 in 2004.{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0110/p13s1-woaf.html|title=In South Africa, many blacks convert to Islam|journal=Christian Science Monitor|date=10 January 2002|access-date=29 August 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9398/muslims-say-their-faith-growing-fast-in-africa |title=Muslims say their faith growing fast in Africa |date=15 November 2004 |publisher=Religionnewsblog.com |access-date=7 November 2010}}

The Hindu population has its roots in the British colonial period, but later waves of immigration from India have also contributed to it. Most Hindus are of South Asian origin, but there are many who come from mixed racial stock. Some are converts due to the efforts of ISKCON.

Other minority religions in South Africa are Sikhism, Jainism, Baháʼí Faith and Judaism.{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51496.htm|title=South Africa – Section I. Religious Demography|publisher=U.S. Department of State|access-date=15 July 2006}}

=By ethnicity=

86.0% of black residents are Christian, 3.0% have no religion, 0.3% are Muslim, 0.0% are Jewish, 0.0% are Hindu, 9.5% Traditional African and 1.2% have other or undetermined beliefs (2022 Census).

90.1% of white residents are Christian, 4.9% have no religion, 0.3% are Muslim, 0.7% are Jewish, and 0.1% are Hindu. 3.9% have other or undetermined beliefs (2022 Census).

Other demographic statistics

File:South Africa Population 1950-2021 Forecast 2022-2032 UN World Population Prospects 2022.svg

The following demographics are from the CIA World Factbook{{citation|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa/#people-and-society|title= The World FactBook - South Africa|date=2022|work=The World Factbook}}{{PD-notice}} unless otherwise indicated.

=Population=

:57,516,665 (2022 est.)

:55,380,210 (July 2018 est.)

=Age structure=

File:South Africa single age population pyramid 2020.png

:0-14 years: 27.94% (male 7,894,742/female 7,883,266)

:15-24 years: 16.8% (male 4,680,587/female 4,804,337)

:25-54 years: 42.37% (male 12,099,441/female 11,825,193)

:55-64 years: 6.8% (male 1,782,902/female 2,056,988)

:65 years and over: 6.09% (2020 est.) (male 1,443,956/female 1,992,205)

:0-14 years: 28.18% (male 7,815,651 /female 7,793,261)

:15-24 years: 17.24% (male 4,711,480 /female 4,837,897)

:25-54 years: 42.05% (male 11,782,848 /female 11,503,831)

:55-64 years: 6.71% (male 1,725,034 /female 1,992,035)

:65 years and over: 5.81% (male 1,351,991 /female 1,866,182) (2018 est.)

=Birth rate=

:18.56 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 77th

:19.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 78th

=Death rate=

:9.26 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 52nd

:9.3 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 57th

=[[Total fertility rate]]=

:2.18 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 90th

:2.26 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 91st

=Population growth rate=

:0.93% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 103rd

:0.97% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 114th

=Median age=

:Total: 28 years. Country comparison to the world: 142nd

:Male: 27.9 years

:Female: 28.1 years (2020 est.)

:Total: 27.4 years. Country comparison to the world: 144th

:Male: 27.2 years

:Female: 27.6 years (2018 est.)

=Contraceptive prevalence rate=

:54.6% (2016)

=Net migration rate=

:0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 98th

:-0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 138th

=[[Dependency ratio]]s=

:Total dependency ratio: 52.5 (2015 est.)

:Youth dependency ratio: 44.8 (2015 est.)

:Elderly dependency ratio: 7.7 (2015 est.)

:Potential support ratio: 12.9 (2015 est.)

=Urbanization=

:Urban population: 68.3% of total population (2022)

:Rate of urbanization: 1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

:Urban population: 66.4% of total population (2018)

:Rate of urbanization: 1.97% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

=Life expectancy at birth=

:Total population: 65.32 years. Country comparison to the world: 202nd

:Male: 63.99 years

:Female: 66.68 years (2022 est.)

:Total population: 64.1 years (2018 est.)

=Major infectious diseases=

:Degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

:Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

:Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout South Africa; as of 6 June 2022, South Africa has reported a total of 3,968,205 cases of COVID-19 or 6,690.7 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 101,317 cumulative deaths or a rate of 170.83 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 6 June 2022, 36.33% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

=Ethnic groups=

:Black African 80.9%, coloured 8.8%, white 7.8%, Indian/Asian 2.6% (2021 est.)

=Languages=

File:SAPS language.png

:isiZulu (official) 24.7%, isiXhosa (official) 15.6%, Afrikaans (official) 12.1%, Sepedi (official) 9.8%, Setswana (official) 8.9%, English (official) 8.4%, Sesotho (official) 8%, Xitsonga (official) 4%, siSwati (official) 2.6%, Tshivenda (official) 2.5%, Khoi, Nama, and San languages 1.9% isiNdebele (official) 1.6% (2017 est.)

:note: data represent language spoken most often at home

=Education expenditures=

:6.8% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 22nd

:6.1% of GDP (2017) Country comparison to the world: 34th

=Literacy=

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

:Total population: 95%

:Male: 95.5%

:Female: 94.5% (2019)

:Total population: 94.4%

:Male: 95.4%

:Female: 95.4% (2015 est.)

=School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)=

:Total: 14 years

:Male: 13 years

:Female: 14 years (2019)

=Unemployment, youth ages 15-24=

:Total: 59.4%

:Male: 55.4%

:Female: 64.1% (2020 est.)

Immigration

File:COB data South Africa.PNG

{{main|Immigration to South Africa}}

South Africa hosts a sizeable refugee and asylum seeker population. According to the World Refugee Survey 2008, published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, this population numbered approximately 144,700 in 2007. Groups of refugees and asylum seekers numbering over 10,000 included people from Zimbabwe (48,400), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (24,800), and Somalia (12,900). These populations mainly lived in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth.{{cite news|title=World Refugee Survey 2008|publisher=U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants|date=19 June 2008|url=http://www.refugees.org/survey|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005040657/http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1941|archive-date=5 October 2007}} Many refugees have now also started to work and live in rural areas in provinces such as Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

Statistics SA assumes in some of their calculations that there are fewer than 2 million immigrants in South Africa.{{cite web|url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/PublicationsHTML/P03022009/html/P03022009_6.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805230305/http://www.statssa.gov.za/PublicationsHTML/P03022009/html/P03022009_6.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 August 2012|title=P03022009_6 |publisher=Statssa.gov.za |access-date=5 January 2014}} Other institutions, like the police and Médecins Sans Frontières place estimate the figure at 4 million.{{Cite news|date=2005-11-08|title=So where are Zimbabweans going?|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4416820.stm|access-date=2023-02-06}}{{Cite web|title=SA het baie meer mense as geraam

| trans-title=SA population may be much larger than previously thought

| date= 1 June 2009

| last= Slabbert | first= Antoinette

|url=http://www.sake24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Channel=News_Home&ArticleId=6-1607_2524944&IsColumnistStory=False|access-date=2023-02-06|website=sake24.com|archive-date=15 July 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110715230442/http://www.sake24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Channel=News_Home&ArticleId=6-1607_2524944&IsColumnistStory=False|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/faq.asp |title=South African Department of Home Affairs |access-date=6 February 2016|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918042227/http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/faq.asp |archive-date=18 September 2010}}South African Police Service [http://www.saps.gov.za/saps_profile/strategic_framework/annual_report/2008_2009/2_crime_situation_sa.pdf 2009 Annual Report] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725220235/http://www.saps.gov.za/saps_profile/strategic_framework/annual_report/2008_2009/2_crime_situation_sa.pdf |date=25 July 2013 }} page 9 indicating the number exceeds 3 million

=Immigration figures=

Main countries of immigration in South Africa according to the 2011 Census and 2022 Census:

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
scope="col" colspan="4" | Source: 2022 South African census{{cite web|url=https://census.statssa.gov.za/assets/documents/2022/P03014_Census_2022_Statistical_Release.pdf|title=STATISTICAL RELEASE; Census 2022|access-date=2024-01-10}}
scope="col" | Place of birth

! data-sort-type="number" | Population, 2011

! data-sort-type="number" | Population, 2022

! data-sort-type="number" | Difference

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Zimbabwe}}

| 672,308

| 1,012,059

| 339,751 {{increase}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Mozambique}}

| 393,231

| 416,564

| 23,333 {{increase}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Lesotho}}

| 160,806

| 227,770

| 66,964 {{increase}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Malawi}}

| 86,606

| 198,807

| 112,201 {{increase}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|United Kingdom}}

| 81,720

| 61,282

| -20,438 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Ethiopia}}

| 28,230

| 58,131

| 29,901 {{increase}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Namibia}}

| 40,575

| 36,140

| -4,435 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|India}}

| 31,165

| 27,350

| -3,815 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Nigeria}}

| 26,341

| 24,718

| -1,623 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Zambia}}

| 30,054

| 24,625

| -5,429 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Congo}}

| 26,061

| 23,328

| -2,733 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Bangladesh}}

| 19,696

| 20,894

| 1,198 {{increase}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|DRC}}

| 25,630

| 17,635

| -7,995 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Somalia}}

| 26,116

| 15,838

| -10,278 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Pakistan}}

| 17,241

| 15,006

| -2,235 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Germany}}

| 20,494

| 12,139

| -8,355 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Botswana}}

| 12,316

| 8,976

| -3,340 {{decrease}}

scope="row" style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Portugal}}

| 15,626

| 7,615

| -8,011 {{decrease}}

Immigration assumptions by Statistics South Africa to South Africa based on race. Negative numbers represent net migration from South Africa to other countries.{{cite web | url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022022.pdf | title=Mid-year population estimates 2022 | publisher=Statistics South Africa | date=28 July 2022 | access-date=14 November 2022}}

{{Image frame

| caption= Immigration to SA by Race {{br}}(Negative values indicate net migration from SA elsewhere)

| content = {{Graph:Chart

| width=400

| height=200

| xAxisTitle=Year

| yAxisTitle=Immigration by Race

| type=rect

| showSymbols=

| legend= Race

| colors=darkred, purple, darkgreen

| xAxisAngle=-45

| showValues=offset:5, fontcolor:gold

| x=1985–2000, 2001–2006, 2006–2011, 2011–2016, 2016–2021

| y1=632633, 565916, 815780, 972995, 894365

| y2=36908, 25310, 43222, 54697, 49584

| y3=-202868, -99574, -106787, -111346, -90956

| y1Title= African

| y2Title=Asian

| y3Title=White

}}

}}

class="wikitable"
style="width:80px;"|Year

! style="width:80pt;"|African

! style="width:80px;"|Asian

! style="width:80px;"|White

style="text-align:right;"1985-2000632 63336 908-202 868
style="text-align:right;"2001-2006565 91625 310-99 574
style="text-align:right;"2006-2011815 78043 222-106 787
style="text-align:right;"2011-2016972 99554 697-111 346
style="text-align:right;"2016-2021894 36549 584-90 956

{{clear}}

Urbanisation

{{main|List of municipalities in South Africa}}

{{see also|Metropolitan municipality (South Africa)}}

"Urban areas contain about two-thirds of the population; many of these consist of huge informal or squatter settlements."{{cite encyclopedia |url= https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/Languages |access-date= 25 October 2017 |encyclopedia= Britannica.com |title= South Africa: Settlement Patterns }}

Graphs and maps

File:South Africa Population Pyramid 2011 estimates.png|Population pyramid by population group, 2011

File:South Africa 2011 Black African population proportion map.svg|Black population

File:South Africa 2011 White population proportion map.svg|White population

File:South Africa 2011 Coloured population proportion map.svg|Coloured population

File:South_Africa_2011_Indian_or_Asian_population_proportion_map.svg|Indian population

See also

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{Cite web|title=Mid-year population estimates, 2024|url=https://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=1854&PPN=P0302&SCH=73952|website=www.statssa.gov.za|access-date=2024-09-29}}

}}

Further reading

  • {{cite web|last=Alexander|first=Mary|title=Black, white – or South African?|url=http://www.southafrica.info:80/ess_info/sa_glance/constitution/identity-300606.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060704213525/http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/constitution/identity-300606.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 July 2006|date=30 June 2006|publisher=SAinfo|access-date=26 June 2013}}
  • {{cite web|title=A Nation in the Making: A Discussion Document on Macro-Social Trends in South Africa |url=http://www.info.gov.za/otherdocs/2006/socioreport.pdf |year=2006 |publisher=Government of South Africa |access-date=26 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711171013/http://www.info.gov.za/otherdocs/2006/socioreport.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2006}}

External links

{{Commons category|Demographics of South Africa}}

{{Wikiquote|South Africans}}

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20160206124827/http://www.sundaystandard.info/zimbabwean-refugees-suffer-botswana-and-south-africa Sunday Standard article on Zimbabwe Refugee Crisis]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20160206124826/http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-03-03-01/Report-03-03-01.pdf Contains information on the South African middle class]
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20150930160435/http://www.mistra.org.za/Library/ConferencePaper/Documents/Middle%20Class%20in%20South%20Africa-Significance,%20role%20and%20impact.pdf Middle Class in South Africa-Significance, role and impact]

{{Demographics of South Africa}}

{{Ethnic groups in South Africa}}

{{South Africa topics}}

{{Africa in topic|Demographics of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demographics of South Africa, Republic of}}