A child plays in a restaurant in Vosloorus, a large township in Gauteng province. (Media Club)

The country has the sixth largest population in Africa – after Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania – and the 24th largest in the world.

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South Africa’s population: overview

According to Statistics South Africa’s 2024 mid-year population estimates, South Africa is home to 63,015,904 people.

Black people are in the majority, with a population of 51.5 million – 81.7% of the total. The remaining 18.3% is made up of 5.3 million coloured people (8.5%), 1.6 million Indian/Asian people (2.6%) and 4.5 million white people (7.2%).

Data source: Statistics South Africa mid-year population estimates 2024

These ratios have changed since the country became a democracy in 1994. The percentage of black people has increased, that of coloured and Indian/Asian people has stayed roughly the same, while the share of white people has shrunk.

The 1996 census, the first of the democratic era, recorded a population of 40.6 million. Black people made up 76.7% of the total, coloured people 8.9%, Indian/Asian people 2.6%, white people 10.9% and an uncategorised group 0.9%.

In about 2013 the coloured population overtook the white population as South Africa’s second-largest group.

READ MORE: Geographic distribution of South Africa’s races

Population of the provinces

The population of South Africa’s nine provinces varies enormously.

Data source: Statistics South Africa mid-year population estimates 2024

The most striking difference is between Gauteng and the Northern Cape. Gauteng is a city region of just 18,178 square kilometres – 1.4% of South Africa’s land area – yet it’s home to over a quarter of the country’s people. The arid and rural Northern Cape takes up almost a third of South Africa, but only 2.2% of the population live there.

Then there’s KwaZulu-Natal, home to almost a fifth of the population, and the larger Free State, home to only 4.8%.

Data source: Statistics South Africa Census 2022

In 2024 South Africa’s provincial populations, and their share of the total, were:

• Eastern Cape: 7,176,230 (11.4%)
• Free State: 3,044,050 (4.8%)
• Gauteng: 15,931,824 (25.3%)
• KwaZulu-Natal: 12,312,712 (19.5%)
• Limpopo: 6,402,594 (10.2%)
• Mpumalanga: 5,057,662 (8.%)
• Northern Cape: 1,372,943 (2.2%)
• North West: 4,155,303 (6.6%)
• Western Cape: 7,562,588 (12.%)

READ MORE: The nine provinces of South Africa

Population density

South Africa’s population density is about 46 people per square kilometre, according to 2017 data.

In the provinces, differences in size and population mean different population densities. Gauteng, small but populous, has an average of 785 people for every square kilometre. KwaZulu-Natal has 117 people per square kilometre. The empty Northern Cape has just three people for each square kilometre.

READ MORE: The nine provinces of South Africa

Life, death and HIV

The 2024 estimate of average life expectancy at birth in South Africa is 66.5 years – 69.2 years for females and 63.6 years for males. This is up from a predicted life expectancy of 54.7 years in 2002, before any serious effort to tackle the HIV and Aids epidemic began.

The crude birth rate is 19.6 babies born for every 1,000 people. The total fertility rate is an average of 2.4 babies born to a woman over her lifetime. The crude death rate is 8.7 per 1,000.

Infant mortality (babies who die in their first year of birth) is 22.9 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The under-five mortality rate is 28.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.

These rates show an improvement on child survival since 2002, when infant mortality was 57 deaths and under-five mortality 79.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Some 8 million people are HIV positive, making up 12.7% of South Africa’s total population of 63 million. Women are hardest hit by the disease: over a fifth (20.5%) of all women aged 15 to 49 are HIV positive.

The total HIV prevalence rate was lower in 2002, at 8.9% of the population. The higher rate in 2024 reflects progress in the rollout of antiretroviral therapy, as more people live with HIV instead of dying of Aids.

READ MORE: HIV and Aids in South Africa

Age structure

South Africa has 17.3 million children aged 14 or younger, making kids the largest age group in the country and nearly a third (27.5%) of the population.

Poorer provinces tend to have a larger share of children and wealthier provinces a smaller share. In the Limpopo 33.1% of the population is aged 0 to 14 and in the Eastern Cape it’s 31.7%. By contrast, children make up 23% of Gauteng’s population and 22.9% of the Western Cape’s.

For the country as a whole, the second largest age group is from 30 to 44 (24.8%), closely followed by 15 to 29 (24.2%). Older groups are smaller: 13.8% are 45 to 59, 7.5% aged 60 to 74, and 2.2% 75 or older.

Age and race

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Data from 2017 reveals that when it comes to age structure and race, South Africa’s population reflects the facts of history and continued inequality.

While black South Africans are in the majority in every age group, this majority decreases as the age of the population rises. Coloured, Indian and especially white South Africans tend to live longer.

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Migration

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South Africans migrate away from poverty to where the jobs are. They move from poorer provinces to the richer ones, and from rural areas to the cities.

Gauteng is South Africa’s wealthiest province, mostly a city region and the centre of the country’s economy. It has the largest population, constantly swelled by migration.

In the 10 years from mid-2011 to mid-2021, net migration (number of people moving in minus people moving out) into Gauteng increased the province’s population by almost 1.9 million people.

The Western Cape, the third-largest provincial economy with the lowest poverty level, had net migration of 646,529 over the same 10 years. Conversely, KwaZulu-Natal – the second-largest – lost 18,333 of its people to migration from 2011 to 2021. While the province has a large economy, it also has relatively high levels of poverty.

The Eastern Cape has, by far, the highest level of poverty of all the provinces – and the highest number of people moving elsewhere. Its net migration for 2011 to 2021 was a negative 603,044. Limpopo had the second-highest rate of outward migration, at -300,527.

Net migration (people moving in minus people moving out) for South Africa’s provinces, 2011 to 2021:

• Eastern Cape: -603,044
• Free State: -23,128
• Gauteng: 1,856,006
• KwaZulu-Natal: -18,333
• Limpopo: -300,527
• Mpumalanga: 178,386
• Northern Cape: 17,063
• North West: 228,675
• Western Cape: 646,529

Click animation to view from the start.

READ MORE: The nine provinces of South Africa

International migration

South Africa’s international migration rates tend to be positive – more people move here, particularly from the rest of Africa, than leave.

From mid-2011 to mid-2021 net international migration into the country was 2.7 million. Most of the migrants (2.8 million) were from elsewhere in Africa, with a further net migration of 176,120 Indian/Asian people.

The total was offset by the net loss of 286,611 white people to other countries.

Net international migration for South Africa, 2011 to 2021:

• African: 2,850,656
• Indian/Asian: 176,120
• White: -286,611
• Total: 2,740,165

Trends in South Africa’s population from 1960

Age structure

There’s a lot of talk of South Africa’s population being dominated by the youth. But as the graphic below shows, 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 – reducing the proportion of children and youth in our total population. See the actual figures for selected years.

READ MORE: Infographic: South Africa’s population and age structure from 1960 to 2015

Urbanisation

From 1960 to the late 1980s, apartheid laws kept families and communities in poor rural areas. Young men alone were allowed to move to the cities, where their labour was valuable.

After the end of apartheid, from the mid-1990s, urbanisation increased rapidly. In the last 20 years, much of the migration from rural areas has been to Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city since 1950.

READ MORE: Infographic: South Africa’s urban and rural population from 1960 to 2015

Life expectancy

Charting South Africans’ life expectancy is to track the country’s modern history. In 1960, a time of terrible apartheid abuse, 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.

In between, life expectancy has risen and fallen. The most severe drop was during the crisis of the HIV and Aids epidemic from 1995 to 2005. In 2005, life expectancy was the same as it had been in 1960.

READ MORE: Infographic: Life expectancy in South Africa from 1960 to 2015

Child mortality

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 – the lowest rate yet recorded.

READ MORE: Infographic: Child mortality in South Africa from 1974 to 2016

Researched, written and designed by Mary Alexander. Updated August 2025.
Comments? Email mary1alexander@gmail.com

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These maps are based on the 2011 census of the population.

READ MORE: South Africa’s population

According to the census, black South Africans are the majority at 79% of the population, and live both in the cities and across the poorer rural areas.

Indian South Africans, by contrast, are the smallest minority – just 2.5% of the population. They are concentrated in the city of Durban, and to a lesser extent in Cape Town and the urban areas of Gauteng. The first Indians were brought to Cape Town as slaves in 1684, during the Dutch colonial era. But today’s South African Indians are mainly descended from indentured labourers and free “passenger” immigrants who arrived in Durban between 1860 and 1914.

Coloured and white South Africans both make up around 9% of the population, according to the 2011 census. Yet whites are concentrated in the cities, while coloureds  are scattered from the cities to the rural areas – a legacy of apartheid.

For generations white South Africans enjoyed better educational and economic opportunities than any other population group. They were also never subject to any law that restricted where they were allowed to live. So, today,  white people still live where the higher-paying jobs are.

Coloured people are descended from the Khoi and San, from slaves brought to the Cape Colony from 1658 onwards, and from a mixture of all the people of the Cape – African, European and more – before racial classification was a thing. Today most coloured people live in the Western Cape, the Northern Cape and the eastern regions of the Eastern Cape.

All South Africans concentrate in Gauteng, the economic heart of the country. Over a quarter of the population lives in this small province.

Updated 8 July 2021

More infographics

The post Map: Distribution of South Africa’s population groups appeared first on South Africa Gateway.

MARY ALEXANDER • 15 JULY 2024

“Biden just gave citizenship to 1 MILLION illegal aliens by Executive Order,” reads a claim circulating on social media since late June 2024.*

Joe Biden is the president of the United States.

The claim adds that this is “an ILLEGAL ACT that violates the Constitution’s Separation of Powers”.

“If this is allowed, we do not have a Republic of laws, we have a DICTATORSHIP. If this is allowed, our Republic is DEAD.”

The US is headed for a presidential election in November, likely to pit Biden of the Democratic Party against former president Donald Trump of the Republican Party.

Immigration is a hot topic in the campaign. Trump is strongly against it, while Biden has promised a more “humane” approach, leading to accusations that he is “soft” on the topic.

There are an estimated 2.1 million African immigrants in the US, a number that has risen dramatically since the 1990s. The exact figure is difficult to determine as it was previously so low authorities classified African migrants as “other”.

In 2015, the top four countries of origin for African immigrants into the US were Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and Kenya.

But has Biden recently granted US citizenship to 1 million people who are living in the US illegally?

New process to ‘keep families together’

The claim appeared online on 18 June, the day Biden announced a new process to allow the noncitizen spouses and children of US citizens to apply for legal permanent resident status without leaving the country – and to protect them from deportation.

The process was clarified in a White House fact sheet titled “President Biden Announces New Actions to Keep Families Together.” It will be implemented by the Department of Homeland Security.

Previously, the undocumented spouses of US citizens were required to return to their home countries to apply for legal status, a process that could take years.

“In order to be eligible, noncitizens must – as of June 17, 2024 – have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and be legally married to a US citizen, while satisfying all applicable legal requirements,” the fact sheet reads. “On average, those who are eligible for this process have resided in the US for 23 years.”

The requirements are stringent. Each case will be individually assessed by the DHS, and if approved the noncitizens will be given three years to apply for permanent residency.

It’s estimated that 500,000 noncitizen spouses and 50,000 noncitizen children will benefit from the process, not 1 million. And the beneficiaries may only apply for permanent residence, not citizenship.

There has been no credible news that Biden recently “gave citizenship to 1 million illegal aliens by executive order”. The claim is false.

* Some Facebook and Instagram users may have deleted their posts after Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program rated their claims as untrue.

Published by Africa Check on 13 August 2024

The post No, US president Biden hasn’t given citizenship to 1 million illegal immigrants – new process only to ‘keep families together’ appeared first on South Africa Gateway.

MARY ALEXANDER • 3 July 2024

In a “family meeting” on the evening of 30 June 2024, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced his expanded cabinet in the country’s new government of national unity.

Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) lost its 30-year parliamentary majority in elections held on 29 May. The ANC got just 40.2% of the national vote, with 21.8% going to the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and 14.6% to the newcomer uMkhonto weSizwe Party.

With no majority, the parties negotiated a unity government. This included giving some cabinet positions to members of opposition parties. South Africa’s cabinet is made up of ministers and deputy ministers of national departments.

The DA’s Leon Schreiber was appointed minister of home affairs. The department maintains South Africa’s population register, issues IDs and passports, and handles immigration – including the status of refugees and asylum seekers.

Soon after Ramaphosa’s cabinet announcement, a viral claim that Schreiber was “a Zimbabwean foreigner” appeared on social media.*

It reads:

The Republic of South Africa demands answers as the DA Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber who is alleged to a Zimbabwean foreigner is given a key position in country. On Wikipedia Leon’s place of birth was changed 5 hours ago from Zimbabwe to South Africa, this is happening while South Africa is watching.

Migration into South Africa – particularly the migration of people from elsewhere on the continent – was a major issue in the 2024 elections. The anti-migrant social movement Operation Dudula went so far as to attempt to register as a political party before the polls.

People from Zimbabwe and Mozambique, two of South Africa’s closest neighbours, are often targets of this xenophobia.

Schreiber’s place of birth was recently changed on his Wikipedia page. But that’s no proof he’s “a Zimbabwean foreigner”. Instead, it points to disinformation.

Wikipedia tracks all changes

Wikipedia is a free and open-source encyclopaedia maintained by volunteers across the internet. Anyone can edit a Wikipedia page, although others may quickly revert – change back – the edits if they disagree.

But every single published change to any Wikipedia page is saved, with its own online address, in the page’s history.

Using the revision history tab on Schreiber’s Wikipedia page, we found that it was first created on 21 April 2020. The original sidebar summary says he was born in “Namaqualand, Cape Province, South Africa” in 1988.

In 1996 the old Cape province was divided into the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and the western part of North West. Today, the broad Namaqualand region extends southwards from Namibia into South Africa’s Northern and Western Cape.

Schreiber’s place of birth remained unchanged on Wikipedia for more than four years. Then came the evening of Ramaphosa’s cabinet appointments.

Although delayed on public TV, the appointments were released at 21:00 on 30 June. Twelve minutes later, at 21:12, an unnamed Wikipedia user changed Schreiber’s birthplace from Namaqualand to “Borrowdale, Harare Zimbabwe”.

Borrowdale is a wealthy suburb in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital.

A Wikipedia “edit war” soon followed, with users reverting the change, others putting it back, and so on. At one point Schreiber’s nationality was changed from “South African” to “Zimbabwean]]on”.

The page was eventually protected from arbitrary editing in the afternoon of 1 July. The current page (as of 3 July) says Schreiber was born in “Piketberg, Cape Province”. Piketberg in the Western Cape is part of the Namaqualand region.

All of Schreiber’s other online biographies put his birthplace in Namaqualand, South Africa. There is no evidence that South Africa’s new home affairs minister was born in Harare or is “a Zimbabwean foreigner”.

Wikipedia is an invaluable source of information. But it can be abused to create disinformation.

* Some Facebook and Instagram users may have deleted their posts after Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program rated their claims as untrue.

Published by Africa Check on 4 July 2024

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