Demographics of South Africa

Demographics of South Africa
Population of South Africa, 1961–2017
Population	57,725,600 (July 2018 estimate)[1]
Density	45.78/km2
Growth rate	1.55%[1]
Birth rate	20.8 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Death rate	9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Life expectancy	64 years (2018 est.)
• male	61 years (2018 est.)
• female	67 years (2018 est.)
Fertility rate	2.4 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Infant mortality rate	36.4 deaths/1,000 (2018 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	28.9% (male 7,093,328/female 7,061,579)
15–64 years	65.8% (male 16,275,424/female 15,984,181)
65 and over	5.4% (male 1,075,117/female 1,562,860) (2010 est.)
Sex ratio
Total	0.99 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
At birth	1.02 male(s)/female
Under 15	1 male(s)/female
15–64 years	1.02 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.68 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	South African
Language
Official	See Languages of South Africa

The demographics of South Africa encompasses about 57.7 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions.^[1] The last census was held in 2011 and the next will be in 2021.^[2]

In 2011, Statistics South Africa counted 2.1 million foreigners in total.^[3] However, numerous reports suggest that that is a vast underestimation. The real figure may in fact be as high as five million,^[4] including some three million Zimbabweans.^[5]

Contents

• 
  1 Population
  
  
  
  • 
    1.1 Historical population
    
  
  
  • 
    1.2 UN population projections: 2010 to 2050
    
  
  
  • 
    1.3 Age and population estimates: 1950 to 2015
    
  
  
  • 
    1.4 Historical censuses
    
    
    
    • 
      1.4.1 1904 Census
      
    
    
    • 
      1.4.2 1960 Census
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • 
    1.5 Fertility rate (The Demographic Health Survey)
    
  
  
  • 
    1.6 Life expectancy
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  2 Vital statistics
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Age and sex distribution
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Age and race distribution
    
    
    
    • 
      2.2.1 Age distribution within each racial group
      
      
      
      • 
        2.2.1.1 By generation
        
      
      
      • 
        2.2.1.2 By five-year cohorts
        
      
      
      
      
    
    
    • 
      2.2.2 Racial composition of each age group in 2015 (estimates)
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Ethnic groups
  


• 
  4 Languages
  
  
  
  • 
    4.1 By ethnicity
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  5 Religion
  
  
  
  • 
    5.1 By ethnicity
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  6 Immigration
  
  
  
  • 
    6.1 Immigration figures
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  7 Urbanization
  
  
  
  • 
    7.1 Largest municipalities
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  8 Graphs and maps
  


• 
  9 See also
  


• 
  10 References
  


• 
  11 Further reading
  


• 
  12 External links
  

Population

Population density in South Africa (darker color = higher density)

Historical population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1	100,000	—
1000	300,000	+0.11%
1500	600,000	+0.14%
1600	700,000	+0.15%
1700	1,000,000	+0.36%
1820	1,550,000	+0.37%
1870	2,547,000	+1.00%
1904	5,175,463	+2.11%
1911	5,972,757	+2.07%
1913	6,153,000	+1.50%
1921	6,927,403	+1.49%
1936	9,587,863	+2.19%
1946	11,415,925	+1.76%
1950	13,683,162	+4.63%
1955	15,384,557	+2.37%
1960	17,396,367	+2.49%
1970	22,502,502	+2.61%
1980	29,077,143	+2.60%
1990	36,793,490	+2.38%
1995	41,426,810	+2.40%
2001	44,819,777	+1.32%
2007	48,502,063	+1.32%
2011	51,770,560	+1.64%
2016	55,653,654	+1.46%
Note: Population estimates (1 AD - 1870 AD) are deduced from quantitative macroeconomic historical calculations. 1 (est.), 1000 (est.), 1500 (est.), 1600 (est.), 1700 (est.), 1820 (est.), 1870 (est.), 1913,[6] 1904[7] 1904-1946,[8][9][10] 1950-2010,[11]2001, 2011, 2015[12]

UN population projections: 2010 to 2050

Population projections
Year	Pop.	±%
2015	54,957,000	—
2020	57,296,000	+4.3%
2025	59,702,000	+4.2%
2030	61,836,000	+3.6%
2035	63,670,000	+3.0%
2040	65,413,000	+2.7%
2045	67,075,000	+2.5%
2050	68,642,000	+2.3%
Source: United Nations Secretariat[13]

Age and population estimates: 1950 to 2015

According to the 2010 revision of the United Nations Secretariat's World Population Prospects, South Africa's total population was 50,133,000 in 2010, compared to only 13,683,000 in 1950. In 2010, 30.1% of the people were children under the age of 15, 65.2% were between 15 and 64 years of age, and 4.6% were 65 or older.^[14]All population estimates are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Year	Total population	Percentage under 15 years old	Percentage 15 to 64 years old	Percentage at least 65 years old
1950	13,683,000	38.6	57.8	3.6
1955	15,385,000	39.9	56.4	3.8
1960	17,396,000	40.9	55.2	3.9
1965	19,814,000	41.9	54.2	3.9
1970	22,502,000	42.1	54.5	3.4
1975	25,699,000	41.9	54.9	3.2
1980	29,077,000	41.5	55.3	3.1
1985	32,983,000	40.5	56.4	3.1
1990	36,794,000	38.9	57.9	3.2
1995	41,402,000	36.0	60.6	3.4
2000	44,760,000	33.7	62.6	3.7
2005	47,793,000	31.7	64.2	4.1
2010	50,133,000	30.1	65.2	4.6
2015	54,490,000	29.2	63.0	7.7

Historical censuses

1904 Census

South African Population Figures for the 1904 Census. Source:^[7]

Colony	Cape Colony	Natal	Transvaal	Orange River Colony	Total	Percent
African	1,424,787	904,041	937,127	225,101	3,491,056	67.5%
White	579,741	97,109	297,277	142,690	1,116,805	21.6%
Coloured	395,034	6,686	24,226	19,282	445,228	8.6%
Indian	10,242	100,918	11,321	253	122,734	2.4%
Total	2,409,804	1,108,754	1,269,951	387,315	5,175,463	100.0%
% of S. Africa	46.6%	21.4%	24.5%	7.5%	100%

1960 Census

Sources: Statesman's Year-Book 1967–1968;^[15]Europa Year Book 1969^[16]

Province	Cape of Good Hope	Natal	Transvaal	Orange Free State	Total	Percent
Africans	3,011,080	2,199,920	4,633,378	1,083,886	10,928,264	68.3%
White	1,003,207	340,235	1,468,305	276,745	3,088,492	19.3%
Coloured	1,330,089	45,253	108,007	25,909	1,509,258	9.4%
Indian	18,477	394,854	63,787	7	477,125	3.0%
Total	5,362,853	2,980,262	6,273,477	1,386,547	16,003,139	100.0%
% of S. Africa	33.5%	18.6%	39.2%	8.7%	100.0%

Fertility rate (The Demographic Health Survey)

Fertility rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):^[17]

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
1998	21.90	2.90 (2.3)	19.2	2.25 (1.8)	25.4	3.92 (2.9)
2016	22.3	2.6 (2.0)	21.9	2.4 (1.9)	23.1	3.1 (2.4)

Fertility rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) by ethnic group.

Year	Total	Black African	White	Coloured	Indian/Asian
1998	2.9 (2.3)	3.1 (2.4)	1.9 (1.5)	2.5 (2.1)
2016	2.6 (2.0)	2.7 (2.1)	1.5 (1.2)	2.5 (1.9)	1.7 (1.6)

Life expectancy

Life expectancy from 1950 to 2020 (UN World Population Prospects)^[18]:

Period	Life expectancy (years)
1950–1955	48.5
1955–1960	51.3
1960–1965	53.0
1965–1970	54.8
1970–1975	56.7
1975–1980	57.3
1980–1985	58.4
1985–1990	61.0
1990–1995	62.3
1995–2000	59.2
2000–2005	53.8
2005–2010	53.1
2010–2015	59.5
2015–2020	63.7

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in South Africa has improved considerably during the past decade, but still not considered to be complete for black South Africans. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.^[14] (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.)

United Nations estimates, 2010

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural Increase per year	Crude 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	629 000	295 000	+ 334 000	43.3	20.3	+ 23.0	6.50	96
1955–1960	697 000	297 000	+ 400 000	42.5	18.1	+ 24.4	6.50	91
1960–1965	774 000	310 000	+ 464 000	41.6	16.7	+ 25.0	6.30	87
1965–1970	808 000	312 000	+ 496 000	38.2	14.7	+ 23.5	5.70	84
1970–1975	909 000	317 000	+ 592 000	37.7	13.1	+ 24.6	5.47	77
1975–1980	980 000	319 000	+ 661 000	35.8	11.7	+ 24.1	5.00	71
1980–1985	1 052 000	307 000	+ 745 000	33.9	9.9	+ 24.0	4.56	61
1985–1990	1 086 000	299 000	+ 787 000	31.1	8.6	+ 22.5	4.00	53
1990–1995	1 073 000	332 000	+ 742 000	27.5	8.5	+ 19.0	3.34	51
1995–2000	1 082 000	450 000	+ 632 000	25.1	10.4	+ 14.7	2.95	56
2000–2005	1 111 000	645 000	+ 466 000	24.0	13.9	+ 10.1	2.80	59
2005–2010	1 074 000	746 000	+ 328 000	21.9	15.2	+  6.7	2.55	55
2010–2015				21.0	12.5	+  8.5	2.40	55
Total Fertility Rate = average number of children over a woman's lifetime; Infant Mortality Rate per 100,000 live births

Year	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate (per 1,000)	Crude death rate (per 1,000)	Natural increase (per 1,000)	Fertility rates (per woman)	Average population
2002	1 118 916	608 480	510 436	24,5	13,3	11,2	2,79
2003	1 127 380	643 285	484 095	24,4	13,9	10,5	2,77
2004	1 134 751	671 101	463 650	24,3	14,4	9,9	2,75
2005	1 141 351	682 059	459 292	24,1	14,4	9,7	2,73
2006	1 150 015	625 210	524 805	24,0	13,0	11,0	2,71
2007	1 162 056	564 663	597 393	23,9	11,6	12,3	2,70
2008	1 175 212	542 038	633 174	23,8	11,0	12,8	2,68
2009	1 188 662	528 342	660 320	23,7	10,5	13,2	2,66
2010	1 201 175	535 396	665 779	23,6	10,5	13,1	2,64
2011	1 211 011	556 087	654 924	23,4	10,7	12,7	2,61
2012	1 222 324	555 921	666 403	23,2	10,6	12,6	2,60
2013	1 232 668	539 880	692 788	23,1	10,1	13,0	2,58	52 982 000
2014	1 242 070	516 929	725 141	22,9	9,5	13,4	2,57
2015	1 250 782	531 965	718 817	22,7	9,6	13,1	2,55	54 956 900
2016	1 214 592	523 997	690 595	21,8	9,4	12,4	2,45
2017	1 208 934	523 560	685 374	21,3	9,2	12,1	2,42
2018[19]	1 200 436	522 157	678 279	20,8	9,1	11,7	2,40	57 725 606

Age and sex distribution

South African National Census of 2011

Population pyramid, 2011

Age group	Male	Female percent	Female	Total	Percentage of RSA
under 5	2,867,585	49.6%	2,817,867	5,685,452	11.0%
5–9	2,425,181	49.7%	2,394,570	4,819,751	9.3%
10–14	2,344,275	49.0%	2,250,611	4,594,886	8.9%
15–19	2,498,572	50.1%	2,504,905	5,003,477	9.7%
20–24	2,694,646	49.9%	2,679,896	5,374,542	10.4%
25–29	2,542,682	49.7%	2,516,635	5,059,317	9.8%
30–34	2,036,206	49.5%	1,992,804	4,029,010	7.8%
35–39	1,709,347	50.7%	1,758,420	3,467,767	6.7%
40–44	1,402,328	52.4%	1,546,291	2,948,619	5.7%
45–49	1,195,740	54.4%	1,424,543	2,620,283	5.1%
50–54	1,011,349	54.4%	1,206,940	2,218,289	4.3%
55–59	811,950	54.8%	985,458	1,797,408	3.5%
60–64	612,364	55.8%	773,404	1,385,768	2.7%
65–69	401,548	58.1%	556,256	957,804	1.9%
70–74	293,498	60.8%	454,832	748,330	1.4%
75–79	165,283	65.7%	315,984	481,267	0.9%
80–84	100,694	68.8%	222,222	322,916	0.6%
85-plus	75,543	70.5%	180,130	255,673	0.5%
TOTAL	25,188,791	51.3%	26,581,769	51,770,560	100%

Number of children 0–14	Number of women 15–49	Proportion	Fertility Rate
15,812,264	13,866,489	1.14	2.35

Age group	Population	Male	Female	Percent
0–14	15,812,268	7,969,880	7,842,388	31.26
15–64	32,235,534	15,538,934	16,696,600	63.72
65+	2,538,955	1,006,222	1,532,733	5.02

Age and race distribution

South African National Census of 2011

Age distribution within each racial group

By generation

Age group	All races	% of All	Black African	% of Blacks	Coloured	% of Col'd	White	% of Whites	Indian or other Asian	% of Asians	Others	% of others
0–14	15,100,089	29.2%	12,702,324	31.0%	1,311,811	28.4%	771,187	16.8%	258,602	20.1%	56,164	20.0%
15–64	33,904,479	65.5%	26,502,329	64.6%	3,085,684	66.9%	3,165,965	68.9%	939,379	73.0%	211,126	75.3%
65-plus	2,765,992	5.3%	1,796,285	4.4%	217,906	4.7%	649,686	14.2%	88,949	6.9%	13,164	4.7%
All ages	51,770,560	100%	41,000,938	(100%)	4,615,401	(100%)	4,586,838	(100%)	1,286,930	(100%)	280,454	(100%)
% of SA	100%		79.20%		8.92%		8.86%		2.49%		0.54%

By five-year cohorts

Racial composition of each age group in 2015 (estimates)

Age group	All races	% of All	Black African	% of Blacks	Coloured	% of Col'd	White	% of Whites	Indian or other Asian	% of Asians
0–14	16,612,043	30.23%	14,244,663	32.21%	1,288,601	26.66%	789,492	17.41%	289,285	21.24%
15–64	35,465,499	64.53%	28,170,797	63.69%	3,299,771	68.28%	3,026,475	66.75%	968,649	71.12%
65-plus	2,879,378	5.24%	1,812,535	4.10%	244,544	5.06%	718,041	15.84%	104.068	7.64%
All ages	54,956,920	100%	44,227,995	(100%)	4,832,916	(100%)	4,534,008	(100%)	1,362,002	(100%)
% of SA	100%		80.48%		8.79%		8.25%		2.48%

Age group	All races	% of All	Black African	% of Blacks	Coloured	% of Col'd	White	% of Whites	Indian or Asian	% of Asians
under 5	5,936,350	10.80%	5,156,508	11.66%	426,156	8.82%	254,978	5.62%	98,708	7.25%
5 to 9	5,537,225	10.08%	4,746,115	10.73%	430,666	8.91%	263,378	5.81%	97,065	7.13%
10 to 14	5,138,468	9.35%	4,342,040	9.82%	431,779	8.93%	271,136	5.98%	93,512	6.87%
15 to 19	5,124,373	9.32%	4,292,220	9.70%	437,412	9.05%	295,733	6.52%	99,007	7.27%
20 to 24	5,302,246	9.65%	4,461,515	10.09%	426,013	8.81%	306,415	6.76%	108,304	7.95%
25 to 29	5,232,254	9.52%	4,437,570	10.03%	389,429	8.06%	287,485	6.34%	117,771	8.65%
30 to 34	4,307,693	7.84%	3,535,173	7.99%	366,955	7.59%	281,358	6.21%	124,206	9.12%
35 to 39	3,774,921	6.87%	3,001,989	6.79%	376,488	7.79%	279,439	6.16%	117,005	8.59%
40 to 44	3,204,952	5.83%	2,444,972	5.53%	368,886	7.63%	288,370	6.36%	102,725	7.54%
45 to 49	2,738,580	4.98%	2,004,009	4.53%	307,363	6.36%	335,434	7.40%	91,774	6.74%
50 to 54	2,297,586	4.18%	1,619,249	3.66%	264,593	5.47%	332,977	7.34%	80,767	5.93%
55 to 59	1,942,942	3.54%	1,334,800	3.02%	209,933	4.34%	328,999	7.26%	69,210	5.08%
60 to 64	1,539,953	2.80%	1,039,301	2.35%	152,698	3.16%	290,075	6.40%	57,879	4.25%
65 to 69	1,153,159	2.10%	737,581	1.67%	105,403	2.18%	265,818	5.86%	44,357	3.26%
70 to 74	805,114	1.46%	511,723	1.16%	65,465	1.35%	198,876	4.39%	28,949	2.13
75 to 79	502,005	0.91%	313,800	0.71%	41,978	0.87%	128,675	2.84%	17,552	1.29%
80-plus	419,100	0.76%	249,431	0.56%	31,698	0.66%	124,672	2.75%	13,210	0.97%
All ages	54,956,920	100%	44,227,995	(100%)	4,832,916	(100%)	4,534,008	(100%)	1,362,002	(100%)
% of SA	100%		80.48%		8.79%		8.25%		2.48%

Age group	All races	Black African	% of age grp	Coloured	% of age grp	White	% of age grp	Indian or Asian	% of age grp
under 5	5,936,350	5,156,508	86.86%	426,156	7.18%	254,978	4.30%	98,708	1.66%
5 to 9	5,537,225	4,746,115	85.71%	430,666	7.78%	263,378	4.76%	97,065	1.75%
10 to 14	5,138,468	4,342,040	84.50%	431,779	8.40%	271,136	5.28%	93,512	1.82%
15 to 19	5,124,373	4,292,220	83.76%	437,412	8.54%	295,733	5.77%	99,007	1.93%
20 to 24	5,302,246	4,461,515	84.14%	426,013	8.03%	306,415	5.78%	108,304	2.04%
25 to 29	5,232,254	4,437,570	84.81%	389,429	7.44%	287,485	5.49%	117,771	2.25%
30 to 34	4,307,693	3,535,173	82.07%	366,955	8.52%	281,358	6.53%	124,206	2.88%
35 to 39	3,774,921	3,001,989	79.52%	376,488	9.97%	279,439	7.40%	117,005	3.10%
40 to 44	3,204,952	2,444,972	76.29%	368,886	11.51%	288,370	9.00%	102,725	3.21%
45 to 49	2,738,580	2,004,009	73.18%	307,363	11.22%	335,434	12.25%	91,774	3.35%
50 to 54	2,297,586	1,619,249	70.48%	264,593	11.52%	332,977	14.49%	80,767	3.52%
55 to 59	1,942,942	1,334,800	68.70%	209,933	10.80%	328,999	16.93%	69,210	3.56%
60 to 64	1,539,953	1,039,301	67.49%	152,698	9.92%	290,075	18.84%	57,879	3.76%
65 to 69	1,153,159	737,581	63.96%	105,403	9.14%	265,818	23.05%	44,357	3.85%
70 to 74	805,114	511,723	63.56%	65,465	8.13%	198,876	24.70%	28,949	3.60%
75 to 79	502,005	313,800	62.51%	41,978	8.36%	128,675	25.63%	17,552	3.50%
80-plus	419,100	249,431	59.52%	31,698	7.56%	124,672	29.75%	13,210	3.15%
All ages	54,956,920	44,227,995		4,832,916		4,534,008		1,362,002
% of SA		80.48%		8.79%		8.25%		2.48%

Ethnic groups

Annual per capita personal income by race group in South Africa relative to white levels.

Main article: Ethnic groups in South Africa

Dominant population groups in South Africa.

  Black African

  Coloured

  Indian or other Asian

  White

  None dominant

Statistics South Africa asks people to describe themselves in the census in terms of five racial population groups.^[20] The 2011 census figures for these groups were Black African at 80.2%, White at 8.4%, Coloured at 8.8%, Indian/Asian at 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified at 0.5%.^[21]

The white percentage of the population has sharply declined. The first census in South Africa in 1911 showed that whites made up 22% of the population. This declined to 16% in 1980,^[22] and 8.9% in 2011.^[23]:21

Ethnic groups South Africa (1911)

  Black African (67%)

  White (21%)

  Coloured (9%)

  Asian (3%)

Ethnic groups South Africa (2004)

  Black African (79%)

  White (10%)

  Coloured (9%)

  Asian (2%)

Languages

Main article: Languages of South Africa

South Africa has eleven official languages:^[24]IsiZulu^[21] 22.7%, IsiXhosa^[21] 16%, Afrikaans^[21] 13.5%, the English language ^[21] 9.6%, Sepedi ^[21] 9.1%, Setswana^[21] 8%, Sesotho^[21] 7.6%, Xitsonga^[21] 4.5%, siSwati^[21] 2.5%, Tshivenda^[21] 2.4% and isiNdebele^[21] 2.1%.

In this regard it is third only to Bolivia and India in number. While all the languages are formally equal, some languages are spoken more than others. According to the 2011 census, the three most spoken first languages are Zulu (22.7%), Xhosa (16.0%), and Afrikaans (13.5%).^[23]:23–25 Despite the fact that English is recognised as the language of commerce and science, it ranked fourth, and was spoken by only 9.6% of South Africans as a first language in 2011.^[23]:23–25

The country also recognises several unofficial languages, including Fanagalo, Khoe, Lobedu, Nama, Northern Ndebele, Phuthi, San and South African Sign Language.^[25] These unofficial languages may be used in certain official uses in limited areas where it has been determined that these languages are prevalent. Nevertheless, their populations are not such that they require nationwide recognition.

Many of the "unofficial languages" of the San and Khoikhoi people contain regional dialects stretching northwards into Namibia and Botswana, and elsewhere. These people, who are a physically distinct population from other Africans, have their own cultural identity based on their hunter-gatherer societies. They have been marginalised to a great extent, and many of their languages are in danger of becoming extinct.

Many white South Africans also speak other European languages, such as Portuguese (also spoken by black Angolans and Mozambicans), German, and Greek, while some Indians and other Asians in South Africa speak South Asian languages, such as Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu and Telugu. Although many South Africans are of Huguenot (French) origin, South African French is spoken by fewer than 10,000 individuals country-wide. Congolese French is also spoken in South Africa by migrants.

The primary sign language of Deaf South Africans is South African Sign Language. Other sign languages among indigenous peoples are also used.

By ethnicity

In 2011, the first language was Zulu for 28.1% of black residents, Xhosa for 19.8%, Northern Sotho for 11.2%, Tswana for 9.7%, Sesotho for 9.3%, Tsonga for 5.5%, Swati for 3.1%, Venda for 2.9%, English for 2.8%, Southern Ndebele for 2.6%, Afrikaans for 1.5%, while 3.4% had another first language.^[26]

Among whites, Afrikaans was the first language for 59.1% of the population, compared to 35.0% for English. Other languages accounted for the remaining 5.9%.^[26]

Religion

Main article: Religion in South Africa

According to the 2001 national census, Christians accounted for 79.7% of the population. This includes Protestant (36.6%), Zionist Christian (11.1%), Pentecostal/Charismatic (8.2%), Roman Catholic (7.1%), Methodist (6.8%), Dutch Reformed (6.7%), Anglican (3.8%); members of other Christian churches accounted for another 36% of the population. Muslims accounted for 1.5% of the population, Other 2.3%, and 1.4% were Unspecified and None 15.1%.^[21]

African Indigenous Churches made up the largest of the Christian groups. Some believe that many people claiming no affiliation with any organised religion adhered to traditional indigenous religions. Many people have syncretic religious practices combining Christian and indigenous influences.^[27]

Muslims are largely found among the Coloured and Indian ethnic groups. They have been joined by black or white South African converts as well as immigrants from other parts of Africa.^[28] South African Muslims claim that their faith is the fastest-growing religion of conversion in the country, with the number of black Muslims growing sixfold, from 12 000 in 1991 to 74 700 in 2004^[28][29]

The Hindu population has its roots in the British colonial period, but later waves of immigration from India have also contributed to it. Most Hindus are of South Asian origin, but there are many who come from mixed racial stock. Some are converts due to the efforts of Hindu missionaries such as ISKCON.

Other minority religions in South Africa are Sikhism, Jainism and Bahá'í Faith.^[30]

By ethnicity

87.9% of Black residents are Christian, 9.5% have no religion, 0.2% are Muslim, 0.0% are Jewish, 0.0% are Hindu and 2.3% have other or undetermined beliefs.

71.8% of White residents are Christian, 23.8% have no religion, 0.2% are Muslim, 1.4% are Jewish, and 0.0% are Hindu. 2.7% have other or undetermined beliefs.

Immigration

Main article: Immigration to South Africa

South Africa hosts a sizeable refugee and asylum seeker population. According to the World Refugee Survey 2008, published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, this population numbered approximately 144,700 in 2007.^[31] Groups of refugees and asylum seekers numbering over 10,000 included people from Zimbabwe (48,400), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (24,800), and Somalia (12,900).^[31] These populations mainly lived in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth.^[31] Many refugees have now also started to work and live in rural areas in provinces such as Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

Statistics SA assumes in some of their calculations that there are fewer than 2 million immigrants in South Africa.^[32] Other institutions, like the police and Médecins Sans Frontières place estimate the figure at 4 million.^{[33][34][35][36][37]}

Immigration figures

Immigration assumptions by Statistics South Africa to South Africa based on race. Negative numbers represent net migration from South Africa to other countries.^[38]

Year	African	Asian	White
1985-2000	1 135 275	14 476	-304 112
2001-2005	769 038	23 335	-133 782
2006-2010	922 885	34 688	-112 046
2011-2015	1 067 936	40 929	-95 158

Urbanization

"Urban areas contain about two-thirds of the population; many of these consist of huge informal or squatter settlements."^[39]

Largest municipalities

See also: Metropolitan municipality (South Africa)

v t e Largest cities or towns in South Africa 2016 Community Survey[40]
	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
City of Johannesburg City of Cape Town	1	City of Johannesburg	Gauteng	4,949,347	EThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Ekurhuleni
	2	City of Cape Town	Western Cape	4,004,793
	3	EThekwini Metropolitan Municipality	KwaZulu-Natal	3,661,911
	4	Ekurhuleni	Gauteng	3,379,104
	5	City of Tshwane	Gauteng	3,275,152
	6	Nelson Mandela Bay	Eastern Cape	1,263,051
	7	Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality	Eastern Cape	810,528
	8	Mangaung	Free State	759,693
	9	Emfuleni	Gauteng	733,445
	10	Polokwane Local Municipality	Limpopo	702,190

Graphs and maps

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  Population pyramid by population group, 2011
  

  
  

  
  


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  Black population
  

  
  

  
  


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  White population
  

  
  

  
  


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  Coloured population
  

  
  

  
  

See also

• Statistics South Africa


• South African National Census of 2001


• South African National Census of 2011


• Afrikaans speaking population in South Africa


• Jewish population of South Africa


• Ethnic groups in South Africa by municipality

References

1. 
   ^ ^abc "Mid - year population estimates" (PDF). Stats SA. Statistics South Africa. 23 July 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ "Census 2021 New Methodologies Test". Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). 20 July 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018.
   


3. 
   ^ "Table 3.5, Statistical release (Revised) P0301.4, Census 2011" (PDF). Statssa.gov.za. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
   


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   ^ "Nowhere left to go". Economist.com. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via The Economist.
   


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   ^ "Escape From Mugabe: Zimbabwe's Exodus". Archived from the original on 24 January 2016.
   


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   ^ Angus Maddison (2010). "Statistics on World Population, GDP and Per Capita GDP, 1-2008 AD". University of Groningen. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
   


7. 
   ^ ^ab Smuts I: The Sanguine Years 1870–1919, W.K. Hancock, Cambridge University Press, 1962, pg 219
   


8. 
   ^ The Statesman's Year-Book 1977–1978 (ed. John Paxton), St. Martin's Press, New York (& Macmillan, London), 1977, page 1296
   


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   ^ "City of Cape Town / Isixeko Sasekapa, Stad Kaapstad: Metropolitan Municipality & Main Places – Statistics & Maps on City Population". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
   


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    ^ "South Africa: Provinces and Major Urban Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
    


11. 
    ^ Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat (2015). "Total Population - Both Sexes (XLS, 3.74 MB) - 2015 revision". United Nations. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
    


12. 
    ^ ^ab "Mid-year population estimates" (PDF). Statistics South Africa. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
    


13. 
    ^ "World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision". UN. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
    


14. 
    ^ ^ab Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived 6 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
    


15. 
    ^ 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
    


16. 
    ^ The Europa Year Book 1969, Volume II: Africa, The Americas, Asia, Australasia, Europa Publications, London, 1969, page 1286
    


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    ^ "The DHS Program - Quality information to plan, monitor and improve population, health, and nutrition programs". Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
    


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    ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
    


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    ^ www.statssa.gov.za (PDF) http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022018.pdf. Retrieved 2019-01-07. Missing or empty |title= (help)
    


20. 
    ^ Lehohla, Pali (5 May 2005). "Debate over race and censuses not peculiar to SA". Business Report. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2013. Others pointed out that the repeal of the Population Registration Act in 1991 removed any legal basis for specifying 'race'. The Identification Act of 1997 makes no mention of race. On the other hand, the Employment Equity Act speaks of 'designated groups' being 'black people, women and people with disabilities'. The Act defines 'black' as referring to 'Africans, coloureds and Indians'. Apartheid and the racial identification which underpinned it explicitly linked race with differential access to resources and power. If the post-apartheid order was committed to remedying this, race would have to be included in surveys and censuses, so that progress in eradicating the consequences of apartheid could be measured and monitored. This was the reasoning that led to a 'self-identifying' question about 'race' or 'population group' in both the 1996 and 2001 population censuses, and in Statistics SA's household survey programme.
    


21. 
    ^ ^{abcdefghijklm} "Africa :: SOUTH AFRICA". CIA The World Factbook.
    


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    ^ Study Commission on U.S. Policy toward Southern Africa (U.S.) (1981). South Africa: time running out : the report of the Study Commission on U.S. Policy Toward Southern Africa. University of California Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-520-04547-5.
    


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    ^ ^abc Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. ISBN 9780621413885.
    


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    ^ "Constitution of South Africa, Chapter 1, Section 6". Fs.gov.za. Archived from the original on 29 July 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
    


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    ^ "The languages of South Africa". Media Club South Africa. Brand South Africa. December 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
    


26. 
    ^ ^ab "Community profiles > Census 2011". Statistics South Africa Superweb. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
    


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    ^ "South Africa". State.gov. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
    


28. 
    ^ ^ab "In South Africa, many blacks convert to Islam". Csmonitor.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
    


29. 
    ^ "Muslims say their faith growing fast in Africa". Religionnewsblog.com. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
    


30. 
    ^ "South Africa – Section I. Religious Demography". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 15 July 2006.
    


31. 
    ^ ^abc "World Refugee Survey 2008". U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2007.
    


32. 
    ^ "P03022009_6". Statssa.gov.za. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
    


33. 
    ^ So where are Zimbabweans going?, BBC News. 8 November 2005.
    


34. 
    ^ SA population may be much larger than previously thought Beeld 1 June 2009.
    


35. 
    ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2016.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
    


36. 
    ^ South African Police Service 2009 Annual Report Archived 25 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine page 9 indicating the number exceeds 3 million
    


37. 
    ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
    


38. 
    ^ "Mid-year population estimates 2014" (PDF). Statistics South Africa. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
    


39. 
    ^ "South Africa: Settlement Patterns". Britannica.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
    


40. 
    ^ "Community Survey 2016: Provinces at a Glance" (PDF). Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
    

Further reading

• 
  Alexander, Mary (30 June 2006). "Black, white – or South African?". SAinfo. Archived from the original on 4 July 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  


• 
  "A Nation in the Making: A Discussion Document on Macro-Social Trends in South Africa" (PDF). Government of South Africa. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of South Africa.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: South Africans

• Sunday Standard article on Zimbabwe Refugee Crisis


• Contains information on the South African middle class


• Middle Class in South Africa-Significance, role and impact

v t e Demographics of South Africa
Religions	Christianity Roman Catholicism Protestantism Islam Sunni Shia Judaism
Ethnic groups	South Africans White South African Xhosa people Zulu people Asian South African Filipinos Indians Koreans Nepalis Pakistanis Tamils
Foreign nationals	Zimbabweans

v t e Ethnic groups in South Africa
Bantu-speaking	Nguni Bhaca Bhele Fengu Hlubi Ndebele Pondo Ngcoya Swazi Ndwandwe Thembu Xhosa Gcaleka Gqunukhwebe Gaika Xesibe Zulu Fingo Khumalo Sotho-Tswana Basotho/S. Sotho Bakoena Bataung Batlokwa Pedi/N. Sotho Balobedu Mabelane Tswana Balete Tsonga Hlengwe Xika N'walungu Gwamba Tswha Rhonga Hlanganu Nhlave Bila Dzonga Copi Ndzawu Thonga Venda Ngona Lemba
Khoi and San	San !Kung ǀXam Khoikhoi Nama Strandloper
Whites	Afrikaners Boer Cape Dutch Huguenots British Germans Greeks Irish Italians Jews Afrikaner-Jews Portuguese
Coloureds	Cape Coloureds Cape Malay Griqua Oorlams
Asians	Chinese Indian Tamil Japanese Koreans Pakistanis
Arab	Lebanese
North America	Americans
Oceania	Australians

v t e South Africa articles
History	Timeline [nl] Years Early history Cape Colony Orange Free State Transvaal First Boer War Second Boer War Great Depression World War II Apartheid Border War Since 1994 By topic Economy Military
Geography	Districts Earthquakes Estuaries Forests Islands Lakes Mountain ranges Municipalities National parks Populated places Provinces Rivers Wildlife
Politics	Constitution Courts Elections Foreign relations Government Human rights Law Parliament Political parties President State security and intelligence Minister Co-ordinating committee (NICC) Intelligence agency (NIA) Communications centre (NCC) Communications security (COMSEC) Secret Service (SASS) Intelligence academy (SANAI) Law enforcement Department of Police Police Service Criminal intelligence (SAPS) Special Task Force National Intervention Unit NFDD Municipal Police Independent Complaints Directorate Department of Correctional Services Biometrics use Military Department of Defence Defence Force Air Force Army Navy Military Health Service Special Forces Commando System Intelligence
Economy	Agriculture Communications Economic history Energy Foreign trade Mining industry Rand (currency) Stock exchange Taxation Tourism Trade unions Transportation Water and sanitation
Society	Crime Education Feminism Health Healthcare Immigration Intersex Languages LGBT Racism Religion Sexual violence Social movements Xenophobia Culture Architecture Art Cinema Cuisine HIV/AIDS Homelessness Literature Media Music National symbols Public holidays Sports Demographics Asian Indian Chinese Bantu Ndebele Pedi Sotho Swazi Tsonga Tswana Venda Xhosa Zulu Coloured Cape Coloured Cape Malay Griqua Khoisan White Afrikaner British
.mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal} Outline Index Category Portal

v t e Demographics of Africa
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini (Swaziland) Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla  (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara

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