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South Africa

Population

65,677,875

Estimated as of Oct 28, 2026View source
Population rank
24th
Share of world
0.79%
Annual change
+705,7651.09%

Population of South Africa

20M40M60M80M100M120M140M160M202665.7M2050 projection79.2M↑ 21% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

95% prediction interval

Current population estimate: 65,677,875. 2050 projection: 79,177,328.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for South Africa. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
202665,453,0841.09%24
202564,747,3191.16%24
202060,562,3811.64%24
201959,587,8851.66%24
201858,613,0011.70%24
201757,635,1620.66%24
201556,723,5372.03%24
201052,344,0511.19%24
200549,490,0331.02%24
200047,159,7190.92%25

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Johannesburg is home to 12,043,175 people, 18.40% of South Africa's population.

City population10M5M2M
Johannesburg 12.0MCape Town 5.0MDurban 3.3MPretoria 3.3MPort Elizabeth 1.0MSoshanguve 971.3KEvaton 697.7KBloemfontein 669.0KRustenburg 660.3KWitbank 608.7K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Johannesburg12.0M18.40%
2Cape Town5.0M7.60%
3Durban3.3M5.05%
4Pretoria3.3M5.04%
5Port Elizabeth1.0M1.60%
6Soshanguve971.3K1.48%
7Evaton697.7K1.07%
8Bloemfontein669.0K1.02%
9Rustenburg660.3K1.01%
10Witbank608.7K0.93%

South Africa by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 28, 2026

Population
South Africa is home to an estimated 65,677,875 people, the 24th largest population in the world.
Daily change
South Africa has a net population change of approximately 1,889 people per day, driven by 3,197 births, 1,669 deaths, and net immigration of 361 people.
Share of world
South Africa makes up 0.79% of the world's population and 4.13% of Africa's.
Density
54.0 people per km² of land (139.7 per mi²), ranking 161st among countries and territories.
Urban living
63.82% of people live in urban areas.

South Africa Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 1,954100+ years, female: 4,98595–99 years, male: 9,50095–99 years, female: 25,18890–94 years, male: 28,47890–94 years, female: 79,36685–89 years, male: 64,33085–89 years, female: 164,11180–84 years, male: 126,57780–84 years, female: 261,31175–79 years, male: 275,36575–79 years, female: 469,25370–74 years, male: 519,57770–74 years, female: 772,07765–69 years, male: 768,41265–69 years, female: 1,060,36660–64 years, male: 974,11960–64 years, female: 1,280,08355–59 years, male: 1,174,25955–59 years, female: 1,422,00250–54 years, male: 1,468,41250–54 years, female: 1,612,54445–49 years, male: 1,951,17945–49 years, female: 1,992,79040–44 years, male: 2,458,75540–44 years, female: 2,500,00535–39 years, male: 2,720,77535–39 years, female: 2,779,57230–34 years, male: 2,787,65630–34 years, female: 2,870,78925–29 years, male: 2,707,20525–29 years, female: 2,693,93620–24 years, male: 2,639,01920–24 years, female: 2,583,55715–19 years, male: 2,742,07615–19 years, female: 2,721,95210–14 years, male: 2,618,39110–14 years, female: 2,605,0245–9 years, male: 2,846,5395–9 years, female: 2,844,6370–4 years, male: 2,954,4680–4 years, female: 2,872,496100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–41M1M2M2M

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

29.9 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

66.7 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

48.64%

Female

51.36%

Life expectancy 63.1Life expectancy 70.2

Ethnicity

81.4%

Black African

  • Black African81.4%
  • Colored8.2%
  • White7.3%
  • Indian/Asian2.7%
  • Other0.4%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2022 est.

Religion

86%

Christian, the largest religion

  • Christian86%
  • ancestral, tribal, animist, or Other traditional African religions5.4%
  • nothing in particular5.2%
  • Muslim1.9%
  • Other1.5%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2015 est.

Christian: Zionist Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Other Christian 36%

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - South Africa United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. Statistics South Africa