South Sudan - Population, total

The value for Population, total in South Sudan was 11,193,730 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 11,193,730 in 2020 and a minimum value of 2,842,718 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 2,842,718
1961 2,895,609
1962 2,951,041
1963 3,009,061
1964 3,069,735
1965 3,133,155
1966 3,199,348
1967 3,268,392
1968 3,340,426
1969 3,415,572
1970 3,494,011
1971 3,575,896
1972 3,661,442
1973 3,750,780
1974 3,844,094
1975 3,941,613
1976 4,041,792
1977 4,144,552
1978 4,253,085
1979 4,371,711
1980 4,502,603
1981 4,646,478
1982 4,799,435
1983 4,953,154
1984 5,096,478
1985 5,220,748
1986 5,328,167
1987 5,419,808
1988 5,485,288
1989 5,511,582
1990 5,492,620
1991 5,420,179
1992 5,305,449
1993 5,185,712
1994 5,111,371
1995 5,118,084
1996 5,221,925
1997 5,411,653
1998 5,661,934
1999 5,933,884
2000 6,199,396
2001 6,447,791
2002 6,688,225
2003 6,935,665
2004 7,213,354
2005 7,535,931
2006 7,907,407
2007 8,315,144
2008 8,736,932
2009 9,142,258
2010 9,508,372
2011 9,830,695
2012 10,113,650
2013 10,355,030
2014 10,554,880
2015 10,715,660
2016 10,832,520
2017 10,910,770
2018 10,975,920
2019 11,062,110
2020 11,193,730

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