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. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032.

In 2011, Statistics South Africa counted 2.1 million foreign nationals. Reports suggest that is an underestimation. Some estimates suggest the number could be higher, though figures vary widely and are not officially confirmed, including some three million Zimbabweans.

History

The 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.

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 Cape ColonyNatalTransvaal Orange River Colony Total PercentBlack African  1,424,787 904,041 937,127 225,101 3,491,056 White 579,741 97,109 297,277 142,690 1,116,805 Coloured 395,034 6,686 24,226 19,282 445,228 Indian 10,242 100,918 11,321 253 122,734 Total 2,409,804 1,108,754 1,269,951 387,315 5,175,823 % of S. Africa

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 Cape of Good HopeNatalTransvaal Orange Free State Total PercentBlack African 3,011,080 2,199,920 4,633,378 1,083,886 10,928,264 White 1,003,207 340,235 1,468,305 276,745 3,088,492 Coloured 1,330,089 45,253 108,007 25,909 1,509,258 Indian 18,477 394,854 63,787 7 477,125 Total 5,362,853 2,980,262 6,273,477 1,386,547 16,003,139 % of S. Africa

1904–85 national census numbers Some Bantustans were excluded from South African census data from 1970 to 1985 during Apartheid and for this reason official figures on the national population during that period will be inaccurate. +Population Size by Race, 1904–85 (1,000 people)YearBlack AfricansWhitesColouredsAsiansTotalPopu-lation%Popu-lation%Popu-lation%Popu-lation%Popu-lation Area included19043,4901,1174451225,174South Africa19114,0191,2765251525,972South Africa19214,6971,5215451636,926South Africa19366,5962,0037692209,588South Africa19467,8302,37292828511,415South Africa19518,5602,6421,10336712,672South Africa196010,9283,0881,50947716,002South Africa197011,8913,7592,03963018,319South Africa - excluding Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda & Ciskei197015,3403,7732,05163021,794South Africa198013,1354,2212,45974820,563South Africa - excluding Transkei, Bophuthatswana & Venda198016,9924,5122,68880324,995South Africa - estimate198515,1634,5692,83382123,386South Africa - excluding Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda & Ciskei198519,0524,8372,39687927,704South Africa - estimate YearBlack AfricansWhitesColouredsAsiansTotalArea included

1996 Census

Source: The People of South Africa: Population Census, 1996

Black African White Coloured Indian/Asian Other Total % of S.A. Northern Cape278,633 111,844 435,368 2,268 12,208 840,321 Western Cape826,691 821,551 2,146,109 40,376 122,148 3,956,875 Eastern Cape5,448,495 330,294468,532 19,356 35,849 6,302,525 KwaZulu-Natal6,880,652 558,182 117,951 790,813 69,423 8,417,021 Mpumalanga2,497,834 253,392 20,283 13,083 16,120 2,800,711 Free State2,223,940 316,459 79,038 2,805 11,262 2,633,504 Gauteng5,147,444 1,702,343 278,692 161,289 58,654 7,348,423 Northern Province (now Limpopo)4,765,255 117,878 7,821 5,510 32,904 4,929,368 North West3,058,686 222,755 46,652 10,097 16,635 3,354,825 South Africa Total31,127,631 4,434,697 3,600,446 1,045,596 375,204 40,583,573 Percent Population Group → Black African White Coloured Asian Other Total % of RSA

2001 Census

Source: Statistics South Africa: Census 2001 Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Western Cape Total PercentBlack African 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 White 304,506 238,791 1,758,398 483,448 126,276 203,244 102,042 244,035 832,901 4,293,640 Coloured 478,807 83,193 337,974 141,887 10,163 22,158 424,389 56,959 2,438,976 3,994,505 Indian 18,372 3,719 218,015 798,275 8,587 11,244 2,320 9,906 45,030 1,115,467 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 % of S.A.

2011 Census

Source: Census 2011: Census in Brief Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Western Cape Total PercentBlack 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 Coloured 541,850 83,844 423,594 141,376 14,415 36,611 461,899 71,409 2,840,404 4,615,401 White 310,450 239,026 1,913,884 428,842 139,359 303,595 81,246 255,385 915,053 4,586,838 Indian/Asian 27,929 10,398 356,574 756,991 17,881 27,917 7,827 20,652 60,761 1,286,930 Other 21,595 6,790 84,527 27,170 8,459 9,597 17,903 10,444 93,969 280,454 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 % of S.A.

2022 Census

Source: Census 2022 Statistical Release Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Western Cape Total PercentBlack 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 Coloured 547,741 78,141 443,857 183,019 18,409 32,100 563,605 60,720 3,124,757 5,052,349 White 403,061 235,915 1,509,800 513,377 167,524 185,731 99,150 171,887 1,217,807 4,504,252 Indian 37,568 12,978 329,736 1,157,542 35,958 25,882 10,824 2,654 84,363 1,697,506 Other 48,339 4,274 35,890 27,442 7,172 440 2,667 5,894 115,235 247,353 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 % of S.A. Note: The 2022 South African census has been criticised for its inaccuracies, such as the overestimation of the Indian and White population.

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 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. All population estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand. YearTotal population Percentage in age bracket under 15 years old 15 to 64 years old at least 65 years old 195013,628,000 195515,207,000 196017,100,000 196519,385,000 197022,070,000 197525,195,000 198028,557,000 198532,679,000 199036,801,000 199541,436,000 200044,968,000 200547,881,000 201051,217,000 201555,386,000 202059,309,000 202562,803,000 203065,956,000

UN population projections: 2019 to 2100

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

Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1,000)Crude death rate (per 1,000)Natural change (per 1,000)Total fertility rates 2002 46,572,861 987,121 621,727 365,394 21.2 13.3 7.8 2.55 2003 47,005,180 975,304 639,556 335,748 20.7 13.6 7.1 2.48 2004 47,504,691 1,049,185 660,576 388,609 22.1 13.9 8.2 2.62 2005 48,060,577 1,113,332 683,422 429,910 23.2 14.2 8.9 2.74 2006 48,642,306 1,146,355 698,831 447,524 23.6 14.4 9.2 2.77 2007 49,264,665 1,170,206 690,859 479,347 23.8 14.0 9.7 2.77 2008 49,935,872 1,196,308 676,658 519,650 24.0 13.6 10.4 2.78 2009 50,653,813 1,197,835 644,046 553,789 23.6 12.7 10.9 2.74 2010 51,405,009 1,182,577 608,869 573,708 23.0 11.8 11.2 2.65 2011 52,217,038 1,194,399 572,658 621,741 22.9 11.0 11.9 2.64 2012 53,068,330 1,199,305 547,027 652,278 22.6 10.3 12.3 2.61 2013 53,940,104 1,195,484 529,404 666,080 22.2 9.8 12.3 2.56 2014 54,829,783 1,192,619 515,742 676,877 21.8 9.4 12.3 2.52 2015 55,710,675 1,177,128 513,781 663,347 21.1 9.2 11.9 2.45 2016 56,543,365 1,129,875 519,496 610,379 20.0 9.2 10.8 2.33 2017 57,366,323 1,119,165 523,259 595,906 19.5 9.1 10.4 2.28 2018 58,233,213 1,155,430 520,337 635,093 19.8 8.9 10.9 2.34 2019 59,131,136 1,184,110 522,734 661,376 20.0 8.8 11.2 2.38 2020 60,002,639 1,215,381 528,117 687,264 20.3 8.8 11.5 2.42 2021 60,641,542 1,223,452 675,121 548,331 20.2 11.1 9.0 2.42 2022 61,356,168 1,223,535 631,623 591,912 19.9 10.3 9.6 2.42 2023 62,180,391 1,222,387 540,620 681,767 19.7 8.7 11.0 2.42 2024 63,015,904 1,224,801 547,360 677,441 19.4 8.7 10.8 2.41 2025 63,100,945 1,117,840 557,164 560,676 17.7 8.8 8.9 2.21 Mid-year 2026 63,522,380 1,072,842 533,374 539,468 2.12

Total fertility rates by province

+Provinces by average fertility rate, 2001–2026Province2021–2026 (est.)3.032.872.632.532.522.27 Free State2.272.011.82

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.)

PeriodLive births per yearDeaths per yearNatural Increase per yearCrude Birth Rate (per 1,000 per year)Crude Death Rate (per 1,000 per year)Natural Increase (per 1,000 per year)Total Fertility Rate (over av'ge woman's life)Infant Mortality Rate (per 100,000 live births) 1950–1955 606,600 292,400+ 314,20042.120.7+ 21.86.05134 1955–1960 669,400 293,800+ 375,60041.418.2+ 23.36.05121 1960–1965 740,200 304,600+ 435,60040.616.7+ 23.96.00112 1965–1970 810,600 313,600+ 497,00039.115.2+ 24.05.80103 1970–1975 896,000 315,400+ 580,60037.913.3+ 24.65.5089 1975–1980 967,400 309,800+ 657,60036.011.5+ 24.55.0571 1980–1985 1,099,200 311,000+ 788,20035.910.2+ 25.74.9056 1985–1990 1,147,400 299,400+ 848,00033.08.6+ 24.44.4046 1990–1995 1,074,600 318,000+ 756,60027.58.1+ 19.33.5141 1995–2000 1,026,600 448,000+ 578,60023.810.4+ 13.42.8847 2000–2005 1,051,600 626,800+ 424,80022.713.5+  9.22.6154 2005–2010 1,166,200 671,400+ 494,80023.513.6+ 10.02.6248 2010–2015 1,207,200 557,200+ 650,00022.610.5+ 12.22.5533 2015–2020 1,185,000 546,000+ 639,00020.79.5+ 11.12.4127 2020–2025 1,159,600 573,200+ 586,40019.09.4+  9.62.3124 2025–2030 1,143,400 604,400+ 539,00017.89.4+  8.42.2221 Total Fertility Rate = average number of children over a woman's lifetime; Infant Mortality Rate per 100,000 live births

Age and sex distribution

Age groupMaleFemale percentFemaleTotalPercent of RSA 0–14 7,969,880 49.6% 7,842,388 15,812,268 31.3% 15–64 15,538,93451.8% 16,696,600 32,235,534 63.7% 65+ 1,006,222 51.8% 1,532,733 2,538,955 5.0% All ages 24,515,036 51.5% 26,071,72150,586,757 100%

Age group Male Female percent Female Total Percent of RSA under 5 2,867,58549.6%2,817,867 5,685,452 11.0% 5–9 2,425,18149.7%2,394,570 4,819,751 9.3% 10–14 2,344,27549.0%2,250,611 4,594,886 8.9% 15–19 2,498,57250.1%2,504,905 5,003,477 9.7% 20–242,694,64649.9%2,679,896 5,374,542 10.4% 25–292,542,68249.7%2,516,635 5,059,317 9.8% 30–342,036,20649.5%1,992,804 4,029,010 7.8% 35–391,709,34750.7%1,758,420 3,467,767 6.7% 40–441,402,32852.4%1,546,291 2,948,619 5.7% 45–491,195,74054.4%1,424,543 2,620,283 5.1% 50–541,011,34954.4%1,206,940 2,218,289 4.3% 55–59 811,95054.8%985,458 1,797,408 3.5% 60–64612,36455.8%773,404 1,385,768 2.7% 65–69401,54858.1%556,256 957,804 1.9% 70–74293,49860.8%454,832 748,330 1.4% 75–79165,28365.7%315,984 481,267 0.9% 80–84100,69468.8%222,222 322,916 0.6% 85-plus75,54370.5%180,130 255,673 0.5% TOTAL25,188,791 51.3% 26,581,769 51,770,560 100%