South Africa's Population Size

NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVING IN EACH COUNTRY

South Africa's population is estimated by the United Nations to be 60.4 million in 2023.

South Africa last conducted a national census in 2011 and 88.6% of births in South Africa are recorded. Read more from the World Economics Population Data Quality Ratings and see how South Africa compares to other countries around the world and in the Africa region.

South Africa's data is highlighted in the table below, use the filter and sort order options to allow easy comparison with other countries.

Data source: United Nations, Washington D.C., Eurostat, Luxembourg and World Economics Research, London


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    Population Size
Country Population Data Quality
(A-E)		 1970
(Million)		 1980
(Million)		 1990
(Million)		 2000
(Million)		 2010
(Million)		 2023
(Million)		 2050
(Million)



India C 555.2 699.0 873.3 1,056.6 1,234.3 1,428.6 1,670.5
China A 827.6 1,000.1 1,176.9 1,290.6 1,368.8 1,425.7 1,312.6
United States A 209.5 229.5 252.1 281.7 309.0 340.0 375.4
Indonesia B 114.8 147.4 181.4 211.5 241.8 277.5 317.2
Pakistan D 58.1 78.1 107.6 142.3 179.4 240.5 367.8
Nigeria E 56.0 73.4 95.2 122.3 158.5 223.8 377.5
Brazil A 95.1 120.7 149.0 174.8 195.7 216.4 230.9
Bangladesh E 64.2 79.6 103.2 127.7 147.6 173.0 203.9
Russia A 130.1 138.1 147.5 146.4 143.5 144.4 133.1
Mexico A 51.5 67.8 83.9 98.9 114.1 128.5 143.8
Ethiopia E 28.4 35.1 47.9 66.2 87.6 126.5 214.8
Japan A 104.9 117.8 124.5 127.5 128.5 123.3 103.8
Philippines B 35.8 47.4 61.9 78.0 94.0 117.3 157.9
Egypt B 34.5 43.3 56.1 68.8 82.8 112.7 160.3
Congo, Dem. Rep E 20.0 26.4 34.6 47.1 64.6 102.3 217.5
Vietnam B 43.4 54.3 68.0 79.9 88.0 98.9 107.0
Türkiye A 34.9 44.0 53.9 63.2 72.3 85.8 95.8
Germany B 78.6 78.3 79.1 81.4 80.8 83.3 78.9
Thailand A 36.9 47.4 56.6 63.0 67.2 71.8 67.9
United Kingdom A 55.6 56.2 57.1 58.9 63.5 67.7 71.7
Tanzania E 13.5 18.5 25.2 33.5 44.3 67.4 129.9
France A 50.8 53.9 56.7 59.0 62.9 64.8 65.8
South Africa C 22.1 28.6 36.8 45.0 51.2 60.4 73.5
Italy B 53.5 56.3 57.0 56.7 59.3 58.9 52.3
Kenya D 11.3 16.4 23.7 32.0 42.0 55.1 85.2
Myanmar C 27.3 34.2 41.3 46.7 50.6 54.6 59.9
Colombia B 21.5 26.9 33.1 39.6 45.2 52.1 57.0
Korea, Rep. A 32.2 38.0 42.9 47.4 49.5 51.8 45.8
Uganda E 9.4 12.4 17.4 23.7 32.4 48.6 87.6
Sudan E 10.3 14.5 20.1 27.3 34.5 48.1 84.5
Spain B 33.9 37.7 39.2 40.8 46.9 47.5 44.2
Argentina A 23.9 27.9 32.6 36.9 40.9 45.8 51.6
Algeria C 14.5 19.2 25.8 31.0 36.0 45.6 60.0
Afghanistan E 11.2 13.4 12.4 20.8 29.2 42.2 74.1
Poland A 32.6 35.5 38.0 38.6 38.3 41.0 34.9
Canada A 21.4 24.4 27.5 30.6 34.1 38.8 45.9
Morocco C 16.0 20.0 24.8 28.8 32.3 37.8 45.0
Saudi Arabia A 5.8 9.7 16.2 20.7 27.4 36.9 48.4
Ukraine B 47.1 50.0 51.5 48.8 45.8 36.7 32.9
Angola E 5.9 8.3 11.8 16.4 23.4 36.7 72.3
Uzbekistan E 12.1 15.9 20.4 24.8 28.5 35.2 45.6
Yemen, Rep. E 6.2 7.9 11.7 17.4 23.2 34.4 55.3
Peru B 13.5 17.5 22.1 26.5 29.0 34.4 42.0
Malaysia B 10.8 13.8 18.0 23.2 28.2 34.3 41.0
Ghana C 8.7 11.1 14.8 19.3 24.8 34.1 52.2
Mozambique D 9.0 11.6 13.0 17.7 23.5 33.9 63.0
Nepal D 12.1 15.0 18.9 23.9 27.0 30.9 37.4
Madagascar D 6.6 8.7 11.6 15.8 21.2 30.3 51.6
Cote d'Ivoire D 5.1 8.0 11.9 16.5 20.5 28.9 51.4
Cameroon E 6.5 8.6 11.8 15.5 20.3 28.6 51.3
Niger E 4.5 6.0 8.0 11.3 16.5 27.2 67.0
Australia A 12.8 14.6 17.0 19.0 22.2 26.4 32.2
Taiwan A 14.9 17.9 20.5 22.0 23.2 23.9 22.4
Mali C 5.9 7.1 8.4 10.9 15.0 23.3 47.4
Burkina Faso C 5.6 6.8 8.8 11.6 15.6 23.3 40.5
Sri Lanka C 12.5 15.0 17.3 18.8 20.3 21.9 21.8
Malawi D 4.7 6.3 9.4 11.1 14.5 20.9 37.2
Zambia E 4.2 5.9 8.0 10.4 13.6 20.6 37.5
Romania C 20.5 22.6 23.5 22.1 20.5 19.9 17.5
Chile B 9.8 11.4 13.3 15.3 17.1 19.6 20.7
Kazakhstan A 13.0 14.8 16.4 14.9 16.3 19.6 25.6
Chad E 3.6 4.5 6.0 8.4 12.0 18.3 36.5
Ecuador D 6.1 8.0 10.2 12.7 15.0 18.2 22.3
Guatemala C 5.6 7.3 9.3 11.7 14.6 18.1 24.6
Senegal D 4.3 5.6 7.5 9.8 12.7 17.8 32.6
Netherlands B 13.0 14.1 15.0 15.9 16.7 17.6 17.9
Cambodia D 7.0 6.7 9.0 12.2 14.3 16.9 20.3
Zimbabwe E 5.3 7.4 10.4 11.9 12.7 16.7 26.4
Guinea E 4.2 4.9 6.4 8.2 10.2 14.2 23.7
Rwanda D 3.8 5.2 7.3 7.9 10.0 14.1 23.0
Benin D 2.9 3.7 5.0 6.9 9.2 13.7 25.3
Burundi E 3.5 4.2 5.4 6.4 8.7 13.2 24.2
Tunisia C 5.1 6.4 8.2 9.7 10.6 12.5 14.3
Bolivia D 4.5 5.6 6.9 8.4 10.0 12.4 16.6
Haiti E 4.7 5.6 7.0 8.5 9.9 11.7 15.1
Belgium B 9.6 9.9 10.0 10.3 10.9 11.7 12.1
Jordan C 1.7 2.4 3.6 5.1 7.3 11.3 15.0
Dominican Republic D 4.5 5.8 7.1 8.5 9.7 11.3 13.2
Sweden B 8.1 8.3 8.6 8.9 9.4 10.6 11.9
Honduras D 2.7 3.7 5.0 6.6 8.3 10.6 14.3
Azerbaijan B 5.2 6.2 7.2 8.1 9.0 10.4 10.9
Greece B 8.7 9.6 10.2 11.1 10.9 10.3 9.1
Papua New Guinea E 2.8 3.6 4.6 5.8 7.3 10.3 14.9
Portugal B 8.7 9.8 9.9 10.3 10.6 10.2 9.3
Hungary D 10.4 10.8 10.4 10.2 9.9 10.2 8.8
Tajikistan B 2.9 3.9 5.3 6.2 7.5 10.1 15.2
United Arab Emirates C 0.2 1.0 1.8 3.1 8.5 9.5 11.4
Belarus A 8.9 9.6 10.2 9.9 9.4 9.5 8.4
Israel C 2.8 3.7 4.4 5.9 7.3 9.2 13.0
Togo D 2.1 2.7 3.8 4.9 6.4 9.1 15.5
Austria B 7.5 7.6 7.7 8.1 8.4 9.0 8.9
Switzerland C 6.2 6.3 6.7 7.1 7.8 8.8 9.8
Sierra Leone C 2.7 3.4 4.3 4.6 6.4 8.8 13.6
Laos D 2.7 3.3 4.3 5.3 6.2 7.6 9.8
Hong Kong A 3.8 4.9 5.7 6.6 7.0 7.5 7.0
Serbia C 8.1 8.9 9.5 9.5 9.0 7.1 5.8
Nicaragua E 2.4 3.3 4.2 5.1 5.8 7.0 9.1
Libya E 2.1 3.2 4.4 5.4 6.2 6.9 8.5
Paraguay D 2.5 3.2 4.2 5.3 6.2 6.9 8.6
Kyrgyzstan A 3.0 3.6 4.4 4.9 5.4 6.7 9.4
Bulgaria C 8.5 8.9 8.8 8.0 7.4 6.7 5.2
Turkmenistan B 2.2 2.9 3.7 4.5 5.1 6.5 8.3
El Salvador D 3.7 4.6 5.3 5.9 6.2 6.4 6.6
Congo, Rep. E 1.3 1.8 2.4 3.1 4.3 6.1 10.4
Singapore A 2.1 2.4 3.0 4.0 5.1 6.0 6.3
Denmark B 4.9 5.1 5.1 5.3 5.6 5.9 6.4
Slovak Republic D 4.5 5.0 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.8 5.2
Central African Republic E 1.8 2.2 2.8 3.6 4.4 5.7 11.5
Finland C 4.6 4.8 5.0 5.2 5.4 5.5 5.5
Norway B 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.5 4.9 5.5 6.4
Liberia E 1.4 1.9 2.1 2.8 3.9 5.4 8.9
Lebanon E 2.3 2.6 2.8 3.8 5.0 5.4 4.9
New Zealand A 2.8 3.1 3.4 3.9 4.4 5.2 5.9
Costa Rica C 1.8 2.4 3.1 4.0 4.6 5.2 5.7
Ireland A 2.9 3.4 3.5 3.8 4.6 5.1 5.7
Mauritania E 1.1 1.5 2.0 2.6 3.5 4.9 8.9
Oman A 0.7 1.2 1.8 2.3 3.0 4.6 6.3
Panama C 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.6 4.5 5.7
Kuwait A 0.7 1.4 2.1 2.0 3.0 4.3 5.2
Croatia C 4.4 4.6 4.8 4.4 4.3 4.0 3.3
Georgia B 4.7 5.0 5.4 4.4 4.1 3.7 3.4
Mongolia A 1.3 1.7 2.2 2.4 2.7 3.4 4.5
Moldova B 3.6 4.0 4.4 4.2 4.1 3.4 3.0
Uruguay C 2.8 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.3
Bosnia and Herzegovina C 3.8 4.2 4.5 3.8 3.7 3.2 2.7
Albania C 2.2 2.7 3.3 3.1 2.9 2.8 2.5
Jamaica D 1.9 2.2 2.4 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.5
Armenia A 2.5 3.1 3.5 3.1 2.9 2.8 2.6
Gambia E 0.5 0.6 1.0 1.3 1.8 2.8 4.7
Lithuania C 3.1 3.4 3.7 3.5 3.1 2.7 2.2
Qatar A 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.6 1.9 2.7 3.4
Botswana D 0.6 0.9 1.3 1.6 2.0 2.7 3.7
Namibia E 0.8 1.1 1.4 1.8 2.1 2.6 3.8
Gabon D 0.6 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.6 2.4 3.8
Lesotho E 1.0 1.3 1.7 2.0 2.0 2.3 2.9
Guinea-Bissau E 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.2 3.4
Slovenia A 1.7 1.8 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.0
North Macedonia B 1.7 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.1 1.9
Latvia D 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.4 2.1 1.8 1.4
Bahrain C 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.7 1.2 1.5 1.8
Estonia D 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2
Mauritius A 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2
Cyprus B 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.4
Eswatini D 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.7
Comoros D 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.2
Guyana D 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.9
Bhutan C 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Luxembourg B 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.7 0.8
Suriname D 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.7
Malta B 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5
Bahamas, The C 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5
Iceland B 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4


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Key:
Data quality grade definitions:
         A: As good as it gets
         B: Good
         C: Use with caution
         D: Poor
         E: Extremely poor quality












SOUTH AFRICA'S ECONOMICS
SOUTH AFRICA'S DEMOGRAPHY
SOUTH AFRICA'S ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL & GOVERNANCE
PUBLIC SOURCE & RELATED DATA

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