The current population of South Africa is 65,314,246 people, as of 2025 based on the adjusted UN estimation. The latest officially reported number was 64,007,187 in 2024.
Population facts:
- Since 2005, population has increased from 49.5M people to 65.3M (32% growth in 20 years).
- South Africa is ranked 24/197 by population and was ranked 24th in 2005.
- South Africa accounts for 0.79% of the world's population.
- South Africa is projected to reach 94.3M people in 2100.
- For the last 20 years, South Africa has had an average growth rate of 1.6% per year.
South Africa population clock
South Africa
|
World
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Current population |
65314246
|
8266870341
|
| Population rank | 24/197 | N/A |
| Percent of world population | 0.79% | N/A |
| One net population change |
39.7 seconds
|
0.41 seconds
|
| One birth every |
26.6 seconds
|
0.24 seconds
|
| One death every |
54 seconds
|
0.52 seconds
|
| Daily growth/decline | +2,178 | +211,178 |
| Annual growth/decline | +794,803 | +77,079,845 |
| Annual growth/decline rate | +1.26% | +0.96% |
| Population growth rate rank | 87/197 | N/A |
| One migration net change every |
3.15 minutes
|
N/A |
| Annual migration change | +166,972 | N/A |
South Africa population history and growth rate by year chart
| Year | Population | Growth rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 16,440,172 | - |
| 1961 | 16,908,035 | 2.85% |
| 1962 | 17,418,522 | 3.02% |
| 1963 | 17,954,564 | 3.08% |
| 1964 | 18,511,361 | 3.1% |
| 1965 | 19,089,380 | 3.12% |
| 1966 | 19,690,087 | 3.15% |
| 1967 | 20,314,066 | 3.17% |
| 1968 | 20,957,287 | 3.17% |
| 1969 | 21,614,676 | 3.14% |
| 1970 | 22,279,984 | 3.08% |
| 1971 | 22,942,143 | 2.97% |
| 1972 | 23,609,456 | 2.91% |
| 1973 | 24,294,263 | 2.9% |
| 1974 | 24,989,108 | 2.86% |
| 1975 | 25,690,940 | 2.81% |
| 1976 | 26,395,450 | 2.74% |
| 1977 | 27,118,952 | 2.74% |
| 1978 | 27,869,507 | 2.77% |
| 1979 | 28,634,162 | 2.74% |
| 1980 | 29,518,857 | 3.09% |
| 1981 | 30,541,044 | 3.46% |
| 1982 | 31,615,339 | 3.52% |
| 1983 | 32,739,304 | 3.56% |
| 1984 | 33,892,788 | 3.52% |
| 1985 | 35,042,093 | 3.39% |
| 1986 | 36,180,515 | 3.25% |
| 1987 | 37,326,190 | 3.17% |
| 1988 | 38,480,649 | 3.09% |
| 1989 | 39,628,575 | 2.98% |
| 1990 | 40,746,268 | 2.82% |
| 1991 | 41,687,898 | 2.31% |
| 1992 | 42,443,509 | 1.81% |
| 1993 | 43,297,156 | 2.01% |
| 1994 | 44,004,139 | 1.63% |
| 1995 | 44,541,554 | 1.22% |
| 1996 | 45,123,018 | 1.31% |
| 1997 | 45,666,838 | 1.21% |
| 1998 | 46,223,880 | 1.22% |
| 1999 | 46,730,335 | 1.1% |
| 2000 | 47,159,719 | 0.92% |
| 2001 | 47,566,800 | 0.86% |
| 2002 | 48,019,415 | 0.95% |
| 2003 | 48,500,348 | 1% |
| 2004 | 48,991,421 | 1.01% |
| 2005 | 49,490,033 | 1.02% |
| 2006 | 49,998,277 | 1.03% |
| 2007 | 50,528,584 | 1.06% |
| 2008 | 51,114,599 | 1.16% |
| 2009 | 51,728,516 | 1.2% |
| 2010 | 52,344,051 | 1.19% |
| 2011 | 52,995,205 | 1.24% |
| 2012 | 53,782,567 | 1.49% |
| 2013 | 54,678,791 | 1.67% |
| 2014 | 55,594,838 | 1.68% |
| 2015 | 56,723,537 | 2.03% |
| 2016 | 57,259,551 | 0.94% |
| 2017 | 57,635,162 | 0.66% |
| 2018 | 58,613,001 | 1.7% |
| 2019 | 59,587,885 | 1.66% |
| 2020 | 60,562,381 | 1.64% |
| 2021 | 61,502,603 | 1.55% |
| 2022 | 62,378,410 | 1.42% |
| 2023 | 63,212,384 | 1.34% |
| 2024 | 64,007,187 | 1.26% |
| 2025 | 64,747,317 | 1.16% |
| 2026 | 65,453,086 | 1.09% |
| 2027 | 66,143,018 | 1.05% |
| 2028 | 66,830,384 | 1.04% |
| 2029 | 67,506,850 | 1.01% |
| 2030 | 68,161,357 | 0.97% |
| 2031 | 68,798,574 | 0.93% |
| 2032 | 69,426,441 | 0.91% |
| 2033 | 70,040,484 | 0.88% |
| 2034 | 70,641,572 | 0.86% |
| 2035 | 71,234,749 | 0.84% |
| 2036 | 71,816,372 | 0.82% |
| 2037 | 72,387,807 | 0.8% |
| 2038 | 72,949,611 | 0.78% |
| 2039 | 73,496,152 | 0.75% |
| 2040 | 74,035,615 | 0.73% |
| 2041 | 74,575,444 | 0.73% |
| 2042 | 75,111,899 | 0.72% |
| 2043 | 75,641,512 | 0.71% |
| 2044 | 76,164,461 | 0.69% |
| 2045 | 76,681,448 | 0.68% |
| 2046 | 77,199,542 | 0.68% |
| 2047 | 77,716,650 | 0.67% |
| 2048 | 78,215,323 | 0.64% |
| 2049 | 78,699,584 | 0.62% |
| 2050 | 79,177,329 | 0.61% |
South Africa has a population of 65.3M as of 2025, compared to 56.7M in 2015, 49.5M in 2005, and 44.5M in 1995.
Over the past 10 years, the population has had a trend to increase by an average of 1.51% per year. South Africa is ranked 90th out of 197 countries by a 10-year average growth rate.
The UN's World Population Prospects forecasts that with changing growth rate trends in 20 years (in 2045) South Africa will have 76,681,448 people (17.4% growth) and still will be ranked 24th.
By the year 2100, South Africa's population is projected to grow by 44.4% to 94.3M people.
Largest cities by population
|
South Africa
|
|
|---|---|
| City | Population |
| Johannesburg | 4.43M |
| Cape Town | 3.78M |
| Soweto | 1.27M |
| Pietermaritzburg | 839K |
| Pretoria | 742K |
| Durban | 595K |
| Rustenburg | 550K |
| Randburg | 337K |
| Port Elizabeth | 312K |
| East London | 267K |
Compare countries by 7 more topics
South Africa population statistics
|
South Africa
|
World
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 66.5 years | 73.5 years |
| Average age | 31.1 years | 33.8 years |
| Median age | 29.5 years | 31.6 years |
| Male:Female ratio | 48.7:51.3 | 50.3:49.7 |
| Fertility rate | 2.22 births per woman | 2.2 births per woman |
| Population density | 136.7 ppl/mi² | 141.6 ppl/mi² |
Population map with other countries
Population
Growth rate visualization in other countries
Growth rate
Relevant pages:
South Africa topic pages:
Population comparisons
