Demographics of South Africa


The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The 2011 South African census was the last held and the next will be in 2021.
In 2011, Statistics South Africa counted 2.1 million foreigners in total. However, reports suggest that is an underestimation. The real figure may be as high as five million, including some three million Zimbabweans.

Population

Censuses

1904 Census

South African Population Figures for the 1904 Census. Source:
Cape ColonyNatalTransvaalOrange River
Colony
TotalPercent
African 1,424,787904,041937,127225,1013,491,05667.5%
White579,74197,109297,277142,6901,116,80521.6%
Coloured395,0346,68624,22619,282445,2288.6%
Indian10,242100,91811,321253122,7342.4%
Total2,409,8041,108,7541,269,951387,3155,175,463100.0%
% of S. Africa46.6%21.4%24.5%7.5%100%

1960 Census

Sources: Statesman's Year-Book 1967–1968; Europa Year Book 1969
Cape of
Good Hope
NatalTransvaalOrange
Free State
TotalPercent
African3,011,0802,199,9204,633,3781,083,88610,928,26468.3%
White1,003,207340,2351,468,305276,7453,088,49219.3%
Coloured1,330,08945,253108,00725,9091,509,2589.4%
Indian18,477394,85463,7877477,1253.0%
Total5,362,8532,980,2626,273,4771,386,54716,003,139100.0%
% of S. Africa33.5%18.6%39.2%8.7%100.0%

1996 Census

Source: The People of South Africa: Population Census, 1996
Eastern CapeFree StateGautengKwaZulu-NatalMpumalangaNorthern CapeNorthern ProvinceNorth WestWestern CapeTotalPercent
African5,448,4952,223,9405,147,4446,880,6522,497,834278,6334,765,2553,058,686826,69131,127,63176.7%
White330,294316,4591,702,343558,182253,392111,844117,878222,755821,5514,434,69710.9%
Coloured468,53279,038278,692117,95120,283435,3687,82146,6522,146,1093,600,4468.9%
Indian/Asian19,3562,805161,289790,81313,0832,2685,51010,09740,3761,045,5962.6%
Other35,84911,26258,65469,42316,12012,20832,90416,635122,148375 2040.9%
Total6,302,525 2,633,5047,348,4238,417,0212,800,711840,3214,929,3683,354,8253,956,87540,583,573100.0%
% of S.A.15.5%6.5%18.1%20.7%6.9%2.1%12.1%8.3%9.7%100%

2001 Census

Source: Statistics South Africa: Census 2001
Eastern CapeFree StateGautengKwaZulu-NatalLimpopoMpumalangaNorthern CapeNorth WestWestern CapeTotalPercent
African5,635,0792,381,0736,522,7928,002,4075,128,6162,886,345293,9763,358,4501,207,42935,416,16679.0%
White304,506238,7911,758,398483,448126,276203,244102,042244,035832,9014,293,6409.6%
Coloured478,80783,193337,974141,88710,16322,158424,38956,9592,438,9763,994,5058.9%
Indian/Asian18,3723,719218,015798,2758,58711,2442,3209,90645,0301,115,4672.5%
Total6,436,763 2,706,7758,837,1789,426,0175,273,6423,122,990822,7273,669,3494,524,33544,819,778100.0%
% of S.A.14.4%6.0%19.7%21.0%11.8%7.0%1.8%8.2%10.1%100%

2011 Census

Source: Census 2011: Census in Brief
Eastern CapeFree StateGautengKwaZulu-NatalLimpopoMpumalangaNorthern CapeNorth WestWestern CapeTotalPercent
African5 660 2302 405 5339 493 6848 912 9215 224 7543 662 219576 9863 152 0631 912 54741,000 938 79.2%
Coloured541,85083,844423,594141,37614,41536,611461,89971,4092,840,4044,615,4018.9%
White310,450239,0261,913,884428,842139,359303,59581,246255,385915,0534,586,8388.9%
Indian/Asian27,92910,398356,574756,99117,88127,9177,82720,65260,7611,286,9302.5%
Other21,5956,79084,52727,1708,4599,59717,90310,44493,969280,4540.5%
Total6,562,053 2,745,59012,272,26310,267,3005,404,8684,039,9391,145,8613,669,3495,822,73451,770,560100.0%
% of S.A.12.7%5.3%23.7%19.8%10.4%7.8%2.2%7.1%11.2%100%

UN population projections: 2019 to 2100

Age and population estimates: 1950 to 2015

According to the 2010 revision of the United Nations Secretariat's World Population Prospects, South Africa's total population was 50,133,000 in 2010, compared to only 13,683,000 in 1950. In 2010, 30.1% of the people were children under the age of 15, 65.2% were between 15 and 64 years of age, and 4.6% were 65 or older. All population estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.
YearTotal populationPercentage
under 15
years old
Percentage
15 to 64
years old
Percentage
at least 65
years old
195013,683,00038.657.83.6
195515,385,00039.956.43.8
196017,396,00040.955.23.9
196519,814,00041.954.23.9
197022,502,00042.154.53.4
197525,699,00041.954.93.2
198029,077,00041.555.33.1
198532,983,00040.556.43.1
199036,794,00038.957.93.2
199541,402,00036.060.63.4
200044,760,00033.762.63.7
200547,793,00031.764.24.1
201050,133,00030.165.24.6
201554,490,00029.263.07.7

Vital statistics

Stats SA: From 2002 to present

The following statistics are obtained from the mid-year population estimates published by Stats SA:
Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Total fertility rates
200246,355,083985,592581,147404,44521.212.58.72.45
200346,806,354992,466619,789372,67721.113.27.92.42
200447,310,0501,058,035648,774409,26122.313.78.62.54
200547,860,3601,101,649661,940439,70923.013.89.22.59
200648,446,4141,136,560671,812464,74823.413.89.62.63
200749,088,6991,170,768660,794509,97423.813.410.42.65
200849,794,5601,196,587634,042562,54524.012.711.32.66
200950,544,9311,203,938602,288601,65023.811.911.92.62
201051,328,6621,204,340574,718629,62223.411.212.22.58
201152,129,1171,192,472551,597640,87522.810.612.22.51
201252,930,3561,184,855550,702634,15322.310.411.92.46
201353,751,0951,180,634535,958644,67621.99.912.02.42
201454,574,4011,178,657538,866639,79121.59.811.72.39
201555,406,6341,177,000532,761644,23921.29.611.62.37
201656,252,3361,179,465526,226653,23920.99.311.62.36
201757,097,8571,178,754530,210648,54420.69.311.32.34
201857,939,2261,175,282535,401642,88120.29.211.02.33
201958,775,0221,171,219541,493629,72619.99.210.72.32

United Nations estimates, 2010

The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Age and sex distribution

Age groupMaleFemale percentFemaleTotalPercentage of RSA
under 52,867,58549.6%2,817,8675,685,45211.0%
5–92,425,18149.7%2,394,5704,819,7519.3%
10–142,344,27549.0%2,250,6114,594,8868.9%
15–192,498,57250.1%2,504,9055,003,4779.7%
20–242,694,64649.9%2,679,8965,374,54210.4%
25–292,542,68249.7%2,516,6355,059,3179.8%
30–342,036,20649.5%1,992,8044,029,0107.8%
35–391,709,34750.7%1,758,4203,467,7676.7%
40–441,402,32852.4%1,546,2912,948,6195.7%
45–491,195,74054.4%1,424,5432,620,2835.1%
50–541,011,34954.4%1,206,9402,218,2894.3%
55–59811,95054.8%985,4581,797,4083.5%
60–64612,36455.8%773,4041,385,7682.7%
65–69401,54858.1%556,256957,8041.9%
70–74293,49860.8%454,832748,3301.4%
75–79165,28365.7%315,984481,2670.9%
80–84100,69468.8%222,222322,9160.6%
85-plus75,54370.5%180,130255,6730.5%
TOTAL25,188,79151.3%26,581,76951,770,560100%

Number of children 0–14Number of women 15–49ProportionFertility Rate
15,812,26413,866,4891.142.35

Age groupPopulationMaleFemalePercent
0–1415,812,2687,969,8807,842,38831.26
15–6432,235,53415,538,93416,696,60063.72
65+2,538,9551,006,2221,532,7335.02

Age and race distribution

Age distribution within each racial group

By generation
By five-year cohorts

Racial composition of each age group in 2015 (estimates)

Age groupAll races% of AllBlack African% of BlacksColoured% of Col'dWhite% of WhitesIndian or other Asian% of Asians
0–1416,612,04330.23%14,244,66332.21%1,288,60126.66%789,49217.41%289,28521.24%
15–6435,465,49964.53%28,170,79763.69%3,299,77168.28%3,026,47566.75%968,64971.12%
65-plus2,879,3785.24%1,812,5354.10%244,5445.06%718,04115.84%104.0687.64%
All ages54,956,920100%44,227,995'4,832,916'4,534,008'1,362,002'
% of SA100%80.48%8.79%8.25%2.48%

Age groupAll races% of AllBlack African% of BlacksColoured% of Col'dWhite% of WhitesIndian or Asian% of Asians
under 55,936,35010.80%5,156,50811.66%426,1568.82%254,9785.62%98,7087.25%
5 to 95,537,22510.08%4,746,11510.73%430,6668.91%263,3785.81%97,0657.13%
10 to 145,138,4689.35%4,342,0409.82%431,7798.93%271,1365.98%93,5126.87%
15 to 195,124,3739.32%4,292,2209.70%437,4129.05%295,7336.52%99,0077.27%
20 to 245,302,2469.65%4,461,51510.09%426,0138.81%306,4156.76%108,3047.95%
25 to 295,232,2549.52%4,437,57010.03%389,4298.06%287,4856.34%117,7718.65%
30 to 344,307,6937.84%3,535,1737.99%366,9557.59%281,3586.21%124,2069.12%
35 to 393,774,9216.87%3,001,9896.79%376,4887.79%279,4396.16%117,0058.59%
40 to 443,204,9525.83%2,444,9725.53%368,8867.63%288,3706.36%102,7257.54%
45 to 492,738,5804.98%2,004,0094.53%307,3636.36%335,4347.40%91,7746.74%
50 to 542,297,5864.18%1,619,2493.66%264,5935.47%332,9777.34%80,7675.93%
55 to 591,942,9423.54%1,334,8003.02%209,9334.34%328,9997.26%69,2105.08%
60 to 641,539,9532.80%1,039,3012.35%152,6983.16%290,0756.40%57,8794.25%
65 to 691,153,1592.10%737,5811.67%105,4032.18%265,8185.86%44,3573.26%
70 to 74805,1141.46%511,7231.16%65,4651.35%198,8764.39%28,9492.13%
75 to 79502,0050.91%313,8000.71%41,9780.87%128,6752.84%17,5521.29%
80-plus419,1000.76%249,4310.56%31,6980.66%124,6722.75%13,2100.97%
All ages54,956,920100%44,227,995'4,832,916'4,534,008'1,362,002'
% of SA100%80.48%8.79%8.25%2.48%

Age groupAll racesBlack African% of age grpColoured% of age grpWhite% of age grpIndian or Asian% of age grp
under 55,936,3505,156,50886.86%426,1567.18%254,9784.30%98,7081.66%
5 to 95,537,2254,746,11585.71%430,6667.78%263,3784.76%97,0651.75%
10 to 145,138,4684,342,04084.50%431,7798.40%271,1365.28%93,5121.82%
15 to 195,124,3734,292,22083.76%437,4128.54%295,7335.77%99,0071.93%
20 to 245,302,2464,461,51584.14%426,0138.03%306,4155.78%108,3042.04%
25 to 295,232,2544,437,57084.81%389,4297.44%287,4855.49%117,7712.25%
30 to 344,307,6933,535,17382.07%366,9558.52%281,3586.53%124,2062.88%
35 to 393,774,9213,001,98979.52%376,4889.97%279,4397.40%117,0053.10%
40 to 443,204,9522,444,97276.29%368,88611.51%288,3709.00%102,7253.21%
45 to 492,738,5802,004,00973.18%307,36311.22%335,43412.25%91,7743.35%
50 to 542,297,5861,619,24970.48%264,59311.52%332,97714.49%80,7673.52%
55 to 591,942,9421,334,80068.70%209,93310.80%328,99916.93%69,2103.56%
60 to 641,539,9531,039,30167.49%152,6989.92%290,07518.84%57,8793.76%
65 to 691,153,159737,58163.96%105,4039.14%265,81823.05%44,3573.85%
70 to 74805,114511,72363.56%65,4658.13%198,87624.70%28,9493.60%
75 to 79502,005313,80062.51%41,9788.36%128,67525.63%17,5523.50%
80-plus419,100249,43159.52%31,6987.56%124,67229.75%13,2103.15%
All ages54,956,92044,227,9954,832,9164,534,0081,362,002
% of SA80.48%8.79%8.25%2.48%

Racial composition of each age group in 2020 (estimates)http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022020.pdf

Age groupAll races% of AllBlack African% of BlacksColoured% of Col'dWhite% of WhitesIndian or other Asian% of Asians
0–1417,050,95528.60%14,605,41630.33%1,408,55326.84%742,91315.87%294,07319.08%
15–6438,941,22165.31%31,368,17465.14%3,487,28466.45%2,988,63463.86%1,097,12971.19%
65-plus3,630,1746.09%2,180,1374.53%351,9036.71%948,22320.26%149,9119.73%
All ages59,622,350100%48,153,727'5,247,740'4,679,770'1,541,113'
% of SA100%80.76%8.80%7.85%2.58%

Age groupAll races% of AllBlack African% of BlacksColoured% of Col'dWhite% of WhitesIndian or Asian% of Asians
under 55,743,4509.63%4,940,75110.26%476,3229.08%226,7154.84%99,6626.47%
5 to 95,715,9529.59%4,890,89510.16%475,5189.06%249,9915.34%99,5486.46%
10 to 145,591,5539.38%4,773,7709.91%456,7138.70%266,2075.69%94,8636.16%
15 to 194,774,5798.01%4,031,7048.37%411,0567.83%243,2675.20%88,5525.75%
20 to 244,823,3678.09%4,043,4328.40%423,1808.06%254,4655.44%102,2906.64%
25 to 295,420,7549.09%4,586,7809.53%435,7468.30%267,6545.72%130,5748.47%
30 to 345,641,7509.46%4,769,4999.90%431,2748.22%296,1606.33%144,8179.40%
35 to 394,798,2938.05%3,962,7808.23%381,8587.28%308,9596.60%144,6969.39%
40 to 443,733,9426.26%2,988,9996.21%316,6116.03%306,4146.55%121,9187.91%
45 to 493,169,6485.32%2,393,3174.97%312,6655.96%352,6487.54%111,0187.20%
50 to 542,571,2634.31%1,834,1913.81%302,2245.76%337,8397.22%97,0096.29%
55 to 592,211,3093.71%1,546,6743.21%264,9675.05%314,4236.72%85,2455.53%
60 to 641,796,3163.01%1,210,7982.51%207,7033.96%306,8056.56%71,0104.61%
65 to 691,408,6652.36%918,6041.91%150,9412.88%281,3186.01%57,8023.75%
70 to 741,007,1741.69%619,1061.29%97,1271.85%248,6735.31%42,2682.74%
75 to 79637,0621.07%365,4090.76%56,8221.08%188,1234.02%26,7081.73%
80-plus577,2730.97%277,0180.58%47,0130.90%230,1094.92%23,1331.50%
All ages59,622,350100%48,153,727'5,247,740'4,679,770'1,541,113'
% of SA100%80.76%8.80%7.85%2.58%

Age groupAll racesBlack African% of age grpColoured% of age grpWhite% of age grpIndian or Asian% of age grp
under 55,743,4504,940,75186.02%476,3228.29%226,7153.95%99,6621.74%
5 to 95,715,9524,890,89585.57%475,5188.32%249,9914.37%99,5481.74%
10 to 145,591,5534,773,77085.37%456,7138.17%266,2074.76%94,8631.70%
15 to 194,774,5794,031,70484.44%411,0568.61%243,2675.10%88,5521.85%
20 to 244,823,3674,043,43283.83%423,1808.77%254,4655.28%102,2902.12%
25 to 295,420,7544,586,78084.62%435,7468.04%267,6544.94%130,5742.41%
30 to 345,641,7504,769,49984.54%431,2747.64%296,1605.25%144,8172.57%
35 to 394,798,2933,962,78082.59%381,8587.96%308,9596.44%144,6963.02%
40 to 443,733,9422,988,99980.05%316,6118.48%306,4148.21%121,9183.27%
45 to 493,169,6482,393,31775.51%312,6659.86%352,64811.13%111,0183.50%
50 to 542,571,2631,834,19171.33%302,22411.75%337,83913.14%97,0093.77%
55 to 592,211,3091,546,67469.94%264,96711.98%314,42314.22%85,2453.85%
60 to 641,796,3161,210,79867.40%207,70311.56%306,80517.08%71,0103.95%
65 to 691,408,665918,60465.21%150,94110.72%281,31819.97%57,8024.10%
70 to 741,007,174619,10661.47%97,1279.64%248,67324.69%42,2684.20%
75 to 79637,062365,40957.36%56,8228.92%188,12329.53%26,7084.19%
80-plus577,273277,01847.99%47,0138.14%230,10939.86%23,1334.01%
All ages59,622,35048,153,7275,247,7404,679,7701,541,113
% of SA80.76%8.80%7.85%2.58%

Fertility rate (The Demographic Health Survey)

Fertility rate and CBR :
YearCBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR
199821.902.90 19.22.25 25.43.92
201622.32.6 21.92.4 23.13.1

Fertility rate by ethnic group.
YearTotalBlack AfricanWhiteColouredIndian/Asian
19982.9 3.1 1.9 2.5
20162.6 2.7 1.5 2.5 1.7

Life expectancy

Life expectancy from 1950 to 2020 :
PeriodLife expectancy
1950–195548.5
1955–1960 51.3
1960–1965 53.0
1965–1970 54.8
1970–1975 56.7
1975–1980 57.3
1980–1985 58.4
1985–1990 61.0
1990–1995 62.3
1995–2000 59.2
2000–2005 53.8
2005–2010 53.1
2010–2015 59.5
2015–2020 63.7

Ethnic groups

asks people to describe themselves in the census in terms of five racial population groups. The 2011 census figures for these groups were Black African at 80.2%, White at 8.4%, Coloured at 8.8%, Indian/Asian at 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified at 0.5%.
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, and 8.9% in 2011.

Languages

South Africa has eleven official languages: IsiZulu 22.7%, IsiXhosa 16%, Afrikaans 13.5%, English 9.6%, Sepedi 9.1%, Setswana 8%, Sesotho 7.6%, Xitsonga 4.5%, siSwati 2.5%, Tshivenda 2.4% and isiNdebele 2.1%.
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 2011 census, the three most spoken first languages are Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans. Despite the fact that English is recognised as the language of commerce and science, it ranked fourth, and was spoken by only 9.6% of South Africans as a first language in 2011.
The country also recognises several unofficial languages, including Sekholokoe, Fanagalo, Khoe, Lobedu, Nama, Northern Ndebele, Phuthi, San and South African Sign Language. 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, German, and Greek, while some Indians and other Asians in South Africa speak South Asian languages, such as Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu and Telugu. Although many South Africans are of Huguenot 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.

By ethnicity

In 2011, the first language was Zulu for 28.1% of african residents, Xhosa for 19.8%, Northern Sotho for 11.2%, Tswana for 9.7%, Sesotho for 9.3%, Tsonga for 5.5%, Swati 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.
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

According to the 2001 national census, Christians accounted for 79.7% of the population. This includes Protestant, Zionist Christian, Pentecostal/Charismatic, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Dutch Reformed, Anglican ; 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%.
African Indigenous Churches made up the largest of the Christian groups. Some believe that many people claiming no affiliation with any organised religion adhered to traditional indigenous religions. Many people have syncretic religious practices combining Christian and indigenous influences.
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
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, Bahá'í Faith and Judaism.

By ethnicity

87.9% of Black residents are Christian, 9.5% have no religion, 0.2% are Muslim, 0.0% are Jewish, 1.22% are Hindu and 2.3% have other or undetermined beliefs.
71.8% of White residents are Christian, 23.8% have no religion, 0.2% are Muslim, 1.4% are Jewish, and 0.0% are Hindu. 2.7% have other or undetermined beliefs.

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.
The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated.

Population

Age structure

Median age

Birth rate

Death rate

[Total fertility rate]

Population growth rate

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Net migration rate

[Dependency ratio]s

Urbanization

Life expectancy at birth

Languages

Education expenditures

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

Immigration

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, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia. These populations mainly lived in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth. 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. Other institutions, like the police and Médecins Sans Frontières place estimate the figure at 4 million.

Immigration figures

Immigration assumptions by Statistics South Africa to South Africa based on race. Negative numbers represent net migration from South Africa to other countries.
YearAfricanAsianWhite
1985-20001 135 27514 476-304 112
2001-2005769 03823 335-133 782
2006-2010922 88534 688-112 046
2011-20151 067 93640 929-95 158

Urbanization

"Urban areas contain about two-thirds of the population; many of these consist of huge informal or squatter settlements."

Largest municipalities

Graphs and maps