South Africa

A nation of extraordinary diversity at the southern tip of Africa, South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). The country's peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy under Nelson Mandela in 1994 was one of the 20th century's most remarkable political transformations. South Africa is the continent's most industrialized economy.

Major cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria

2024

64.0M

UN WPP

2050

79.2M

UN WPP

2100

94.3M

UN WPP

~2200

53.0M

Per-Country

~2500

11.0M

Per-Country

Population64.0M

Fertility (TFR)2.21

Life expectancy66.3

Median age28.2

Infant mortality24.4 per 1,000

Pop. density52/km²

Urbanization64%

Youth share (0-14)26%

Land area1,213,090 km²

LanguageIsiZulu 23.8%

ReligionChristian

HDI0.741 (#106)

RegionAfrica

Latest available year is shown in parentheses where the source series varies across indicators. Governance metrics use World Bank percentile ranks; battle deaths and military spending are context variables, not direct fertility drivers.

UN WPP 2024 — verified data through 2100

Year	Population	TFR	Life Exp.	CBR	CDR	Net Migration	Growth
1950	13.0M	6.03	43.1	41.0	21.6	+9K	1.9%
1955	14.5M	6.13	48.2	40.8	17.3	-3K	2.3%
1960	16.4M	6.11	52.6	39.8	14.2	+19K	2.6%
1965	19.1M	5.89	54.4	39.5	13.0	+83K	2.7%
1970	22.3M	5.63	55.7	39.4	12.2	+62K	2.7%
1975	25.7M	5.19	57.6	37.0	11.0	+39K	2.6%
1980	29.5M	4.78	60.0	34.7	9.6	+258K	2.5%
1985	35.0M	4.50	62.2	34.2	8.7	+245K	2.6%
1990	40.7M	3.72	62.9	28.7	8.2	+260K	2.1%
1995	44.5M	3.17	61.6	25.6	8.9	-98K	1.7%
2000	47.2M	2.41	58.4	21.6	10.4	-137K	1.1%
2005	49.5M	2.51	53.9	22.7	13.3	+31K	0.9%
2010	52.3M	2.44	58.9	22.2	11.3	+69K	1.1%
2015	56.7M	2.36	64.1	21.0	9.2	+641K	1.2%
2020	60.6M	2.26	65.2	19.5	9.7	+370K	1.0%
2024Now	64.0M	2.21	66.3	18.5	9.2	+167K	0.9%
2025	64.7M	2.19	66.5	18.2	9.3	+146K	0.9%
2030	68.2M	2.10	67.3	16.8	9.5	+141K	0.7%
2035	71.2M	2.04	68.1	15.8	9.8	+161K	0.6%
2040	74.0M	1.98	68.9	15.2	10.1	+158K	0.5%
2045	76.7M	1.94	69.6	15.0	10.4	+164K	0.5%
2050	79.2M	1.89	70.3	14.4	10.7	+178K	0.4%
2055	81.4M	1.87	71.0	14.0	11.0	+187K	0.3%
2060	83.4M	1.84	71.7	13.6	11.2	+188K	0.2%
2065	85.3M	1.81	72.4	13.2	11.4	+178K	0.2%
2070	86.9M	1.80	73.1	12.9	11.6	+215K	0.1%
2075	88.3M	1.78	73.8	12.6	11.6	+184K	0.1%
2080	89.7M	1.77	74.5	12.4	11.6	+203K	0.1%
2085	91.0M	1.76	75.2	12.2	11.6	+170K	0.1%
2090	92.2M	1.75	75.9	12.0	11.5	+186K	0.0%
2095	93.3M	1.75	76.6	11.8	11.5	+174K	0.0%
2100	94.3M	1.74	77.3	11.7	11.5	+199K	0.0%