Population in South Africa compared to the Vatican: Trends, Charts, Rankings

South Africa and the Vatican: population history and growth rate by year chart

Table

Year	Population		Growth rate
	South Africa	Vatican	South Africa	Vatican
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	880	0.92%	-
2001	47,566,800	890	0.86%	1.14%
2002	48,019,415	900	0.95%	1.12%
2003	48,500,348	911	1%	1.22%
2004	48,991,421	921	1.01%	1.1%
2005	49,490,033	921	1.02%	0%
2006	49,998,277	932	1.03%	1.19%
2007	50,528,584	821	1.06%	-11.9%
2008	51,114,599	824	1.16%	0.37%
2009	51,728,516	826	1.2%	0.24%
2010	52,344,051	829	1.19%	0.36%
2011	52,995,205	832	1.24%	0.36%
2012	53,782,567	836	1.49%	0.48%
2013	54,678,791	839	1.67%	0.36%
2014	55,594,838	842	1.68%	0.36%
2015	56,723,537	1,000	2.03%	18.8%
2016	57,259,551	-	0.94%	0%
2017	57,635,162	1,000	0.66%	0%
2018	58,613,001	-	1.7%	0%
2019	59,587,885	1,000	1.66%	0%
2020	60,562,381	987	1.64%	-1.29%
2021	61,502,603	970	1.55%	-1.68%
2022	62,378,410	944	1.42%	-2.66%
2023	63,212,384	922	1.34%	-2.34%
2024	64,007,187	933	1.26%	1.2%
2025	64,747,317	939	1.16%	0.59%
2026	65,453,086	952	1.09%	1.37%
2027	66,143,018	974	1.05%	2.32%
2028	66,830,384	985	1.04%	1.13%
2029	67,506,850	983	1.01%	-0.19%
2030	68,161,357	976	0.97%	-0.75%
2031	68,798,574	968	0.93%	-0.75%
2032	69,426,441	968	0.91%	0%
2033	70,040,484	988	0.88%	2.09%
2034	70,641,572	992	0.86%	0.37%
2035	71,234,749	1,000	0.84%	0.74%
2036	71,816,372	998	0.82%	-0.18%
2037	72,387,807	1,003	0.8%	0.55%
2038	72,949,611	1,022	0.78%	1.83%
2039	73,496,152	1,060	0.75%	3.78%
2040	74,035,615	1,095	0.73%	3.3%
2041	74,575,444	1,127	0.73%	2.86%
2042	75,111,899	1,149	0.72%	1.96%
2043	75,641,512	1,169	0.71%	1.76%
2044	76,164,461	1,186	0.69%	1.42%
2045	76,681,448	1,209	0.68%	2.02%
2046	77,199,542	1,224	0.68%	1.22%
2047	77,716,650	1,248	0.67%	1.95%
2048	78,215,323	1,272	0.64%	1.92%
2049	78,699,584	1,296	0.62%	1.88%
2050	79,177,329	1,325	0.61%	2.27%

From 2005 to 2015, the population of South Africa increased by 7,233,504 people (a 14.6% growth), while the Vatican gained 79 people (a 8.58% growth).

For the next 10 years, from 2015 to 2025, South Africa gained 8,590,709 (a 15.1% growth), while the Vatican's population decreased by -51 (a 5.1% decline).

South Africa was ranked 24th most populous country in 2005 and is still 24th in 2025. The Vatican was ranked 197th in 2005 and still ranked 197th now.

The UN's World Population Prospects forecasts that with changing growth rate trends in 25 years (in 2050) South Africa's population will grow by 21.2% to 79,177,329 people with a rank change from 24th to 23rd. The population of the Vatican will increase by 39.6% to 1,325 people and will still be ranked 197th.