Voortrekkers settled several Boer regions following the Invasion of the Cape Colony in 17. The Dutch further colonized the territory during the 1700s. The first inhabitants were the Koisan people and the country was entirely African until Europeans began colonizing throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. Humans are thought to have inhabited the land of South Africa for more than 100,000 years, but the population records don't reflect quite that far back. Only 66.4% of the population have access, while 33.6% still struggle with this facet of life.ġ8.8% of the population is estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, with approximately 7 million individuals affected.Roughly 94.4% of the population is determined to be literate by age 15 and the country spends about 5.9% of its GDP on education. In terms of access to sanitation facilities, the numbers shift quite a bit though. The median age across the population is approximately 27.1 years of age.Īccessible and safe drinking water is a concern for 6.8% of the population, while 93.2% of the entire population have improved access to drinking water. In terms of religions across the population, 81.2% of South Africans identify with a Christian based faith, 3.7% identify with other faiths, and 15% are not affiliated with any faith in particular. South Africa Religion, Economy and Politics

The country uses 11 official languages, including Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Swati, Tshivenda, and Ndebele. There was a final category shown as unspecified / other but the results were negligible and as such were ultimately omitted. Of the total South African population at the time, 79.4 percent declared themselves to be Black African while 9.2 percent were shown as White, 8.8 percent colored and 2.6 percent Indian or Asian. Turning to demographics, the bureau in charge of providing statistics provided an estimate in 2010, which included five racial groups. The last national census of the South African population was carried out in 2011. Population Growth is expected to continue in South Africa, although at a slower rate than in the past century, with the growth rate going below 1% annually by 2026. However, in 2008 it was revealed that over 200,000 refugees applied for asylum in South Africa, more than four times the number declared the year before.Įlsewhere, South Africa is also concerned about a skills drain which has seen many professionals, particularly those in the medical sphere, leave the country and seek a career elsewhere. The South African Migration Project has claimed that the country is more opposed to immigrants than anywhere else in the world. So what are the reasons for this increase? The question of immigration raises a contrasting set of views. That represents a rise of nearly six million people over the course of the previous ten years. The 2011 Census was carried out in October of 2011 and showed that the population had climbed to over 50.5 million people. While the birth and fertility rates are both high, they have each decreased annually, indicating the slowing of South Africa’s population growth. Additionally, the fertility rate is 2.372 births per woman, well above the population replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. The birth rate is more than double the death rate in South Africa.

South Africa’s birth rate is 19.995 births per 1,000 people and its death rate is 9.3 deaths per 1,000 people. South Africa’s population growth rate is currently 1.28% per year. Based on current projections, South Africa’s population will continue to grow until 2082, reaching just over 80 million people before plateauing and slightly declining the rest of the century.

Phoenix population growth chart