South Africa’s population
South Africa is home to 63 million people. About 81.7% of them are black, 8.5% coloured, 2.6% Indian/Asian and 7.2% white. Find out more about birth, death, age, HIV, migration and other population trends.
Mapping poverty in South Africa
Where are South Africa’s poorest places? Two maps find the patterns of poverty: one shows the share of households living in poverty in each municipality, the other the number of poor people living there. And an animation tries to make sense of the maps.
The online dictionary of South African English
Mixed with over a dozen African languages for over two centuries, spiced by imports from British, Dutch and Portuguese colonies, South African English has its own rich, varied and sometimes weird flavour.
Infographic: Local government in the Eastern Cape
Local government in the Eastern Cape is organised into eight major municipalities. Two are metropolitan, and the other six are district municipalities. The districts are further divided into 31 local municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in the Free State
Local government in the Free State is organised into five major municipalities. One is metropolitan, and the other four district municipalities. The districts are further divided into 19 local municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in Gauteng
Local government in the city region of Gauteng is organised into five major municipalities. Three are metropolitan, and two are district municipalities. The districts are further divided into six local municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in KwaZulu-Natal
Local government in KwaZulu-Natal is organised into eight major municipalities. One is metropolitan, and the other 10 are district municipalities. The districts are further divided into 43 local municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in Limpopo
Local government in Limpopo is organised into five district municipalities. The province also has 22 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the five district municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in Mpumalanga
Local government in Mpumalanga is organised into three district municipalities. The province also has 17 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the district municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in the Northern Cape
Local government in the Northern Cape is organised into five district municipalities. The province also has 26 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the five district municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in North West
Local government in North West is organised into four district municipalities. The province also has 18 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the four district municipalities.
Infographic: Local government in the Western Cape
Local government in the Western Cape is organised into six major municipalities. One is metropolitan, and five are district municipalities. The province also has 24 smaller local municipalities, each falling under one of the five districts.
Map: Distribution of South Africa’s population groups
The distribution of South Africa’s population groups reveals the country’s history. Find out more with these maps of where black, coloured, Indian and white South Africans live today, according to the 2011 census.
Infographic: Life expectancy in South Africa from 1960 to 2015
Charting South Africans’ life expectancy is to track the country’s modern history. In 1960, when the state was grimly implementing apartheid laws, an average newborn child was expected to have a lifespan of only 52 years – 50 years for boys. In 2015, life expectancy was 62 years.
What languages are spoken in South Africa’s nine provinces?
The home language of most people in KwaZulu-Natal is, unsurprisingly, isiZulu. In the Eastern Cape it’s isiXhosa. Around half the people of the Western Cape and Northern Cape speak Afrikaans. In Gauteng and Mpumalanga, no single language dominates.
Infographic: Population density of South Africa’s provinces in 2017
Gauteng, small but crowded, has an average of 785 people per square kilometre. The empty but enormous Northern Cape has a population density of only three people for each square kilometre.
Animation: How long do South Africans live?
This is an animation to break your heart. In any unequal society, the privileged live long lives and everyone else much shorter lives.
Moving to the city: Provincial migration in South Africa from 2002 to 2017
South Africans migrate to where the jobs are. They move from poorer provinces to the richer ones, and from rural areas to the cities.
Infographic: The population of South Africa’s nine provinces
The population of each of South Africa’s nine provinces varies enormously. According to Statistics South Africa’s 2024 population estimates, the most populous provinces are Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and the emptiest the Northern Cape and Free State.
Infographic: South Africa’s population and age structure from 1960 to 2016
There’s a lot of talk of South Africa’s population being dominated by the youth. But we’re less youthful than we have been for decades. The end of apartheid, better healthcare, widespread social welfare and greater economic opportunities all mean South Africans are now able to live longer lives.
Infographic: HIV and Aids in South Africa 1990 to 2016
In the West the peak of the Aids epidemic was in 1985. But HIV and Aids hit South Africa only in the 1990s, just as we were starting to build a new society out of the ruins of apartheid. Here, the epidemic peaked in 2006.
No, Japan hasn’t banned mRNA Covid jabs, and population decline due to low birth rate
17 April 2024 – People can still get an mRNA coronavirus vaccine in Japan – they just have to pay for it. And the country’s ageing population has nothing to do with the jab.
Animations: South Africa’s many languages
Each of South Africa’s 11 languages has a fascinating vocabulary, with some words and phrases influenced by other languages, and many unique to that language.
HIV and Aids in South Africa
South Africa’s story of HIV and Aids starts with tragic arrogance in a new democracy suddenly threatened from an unexpected direction. Then came activism and tenacity by ordinary citizens. Today, the country has one of the world’s biggest treatment programmes.
The quick guide to South Africa
Key facts on South Africa’s currency, time, geography, population, languages, provinces, government and education.
Animation: Measuring the dimensions of poverty in South Africa
The South African Multidimensional Poverty Index looks at how poverty reveals itself in people’s health, their level of education, the dwelling they live in, how they cook their food, the water they drink …
Infographic: Census counts of South Africa’s population
South Africa has held three official censuses in its recent democratic history: in 1996, 2001 and 2011. The censuses have revealed both a growing population – from 41 million to 52 million – and a significant shift in the country’s racial profile.
Infographic: Exploring poverty in South Africa’s provinces
The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s poorest province, both in its percentage of poor households and the number of its people who live in poverty. The province with the smallest share of households in poverty is the Western Cape.
The people of South Africa by age, sex and race
Black men have the shortest lives, and white women the longest. Find out more about the country’s population structure with this infographic charting the realities of age, race and sex in South Africa.
Infographic: Child mortality in South Africa from 1974 to 2016
The death rate of children is the starkest indicator of the health of a country’s society and economy. In 1974 South Africa’s mortality rate – deaths per 1,000 live births – was 88.1 for infants under a year and 125.5 for under-fives. By 2016 it had dropped to 34.2 for infants and 43.3 for under-fives.
Infographic: South Africa’s population in 2024
In 2024 South Africa had a population of 63 million. Black people were the majority at 51.5 million – 81.7% of the total. There were 5.3 million coloured people (8.5%), 4.5-million white people (7.2%) and 1.6-million Indian/Asian people (2.6%).
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