South Africa - Population, total

The value for Population, total in South Africa was 59,308,690 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 59,308,690 in 2020 and a minimum value of 17,099,840 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 17,099,840
1961 17,524,530
1962 17,965,730
1963 18,423,160
1964 18,896,300
1965 19,384,840
1966 19,888,260
1967 20,406,860
1968 20,942,150
1969 21,496,080
1970 22,069,780
1971 22,665,260
1972 23,281,520
1973 23,913,090
1974 24,552,540
1975 25,195,180
1976 25,836,890
1977 26,480,920
1978 27,138,970
1979 27,827,320
1980 28,556,770
1981 29,333,100
1982 30,150,450
1983 30,993,760
1984 31,841,590
1985 32,678,880
1986 33,495,960
1987 34,297,730
1988 35,100,900
1989 35,930,060
1990 36,800,510
1991 37,718,950
1992 38,672,610
1993 39,633,750
1994 40,564,060
1995 41,435,760
1996 42,241,010
1997 42,987,460
1998 43,682,260
1999 44,338,550
2000 44,967,710
2001 45,571,270
2002 46,150,910
2003 46,719,200
2004 47,291,610
2005 47,880,600
2006 48,489,460
2007 49,119,770
2008 49,779,470
2009 50,477,010
2010 51,216,970
2011 52,003,760
2012 52,832,660
2013 53,687,120
2014 54,544,180
2015 55,386,370
2016 56,207,650
2017 57,009,750
2018 57,792,520
2019 58,558,270
2020 59,308,690

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population