🇿🇦 South Africa Population 2026

As of 2026, the population of South Africa is 65,453,084, ranking #24 in the world (0.79% of the global population), based on UN World Population Prospects 2024. The population is growing at 1.05% per year. The biggest city is Johannesburg with 9,418,183 inhabitants.

Live estimate

65,465,082

Growth rate

1.05%

Density

people / km² (139 / mi²)

Median age

28.9

Fertility rate

2.17

births per woman

Life expectancy

66.7

years

South Africa population 1950–2100

Population of South Africa, 1950–2100 — solid: UN estimates, dashed: UN medium-variant projection.

By 2050, the population of South Africa is projected to reach 79,177,328, and 94,314,448 by 2100.

South Africa population by year

Year	Population	Growth	Density /km²	Median age
2026	65,453,084	1.05%	53.6	28.9
2025	64,747,319	1.11%	53.0	28.7
2024	64,007,187	1.19%	52.4	28.5
2023	63,212,384	1.31%	51.8	28.2
2022	62,378,410	1.34%	51.1	27.9
2021	61,502,603	1.49%	50.4	27.6
2020	60,562,381	1.59%	49.6	27.3
2019	59,587,885	1.65%	48.8	26.9
2018	58,613,001	1.65%	48.0	26.5
2017	57,635,162	1.72%	47.2	26.1
2016	57,259,551	-0.41%	46.9	25.7
2015	56,723,537	2.31%	46.5	25.4
2014	55,594,838	1.70%	45.5	25.0
2013	54,678,792	1.62%	44.8	24.7
2012	53,782,566	1.69%	44.1	24.3
2011	52,995,205	1.26%	43.4	24.0
2010	52,344,051	1.21%	42.9	23.6
2009	51,728,516	1.15%	42.4	23.3
2008	51,114,598	1.24%	41.9	23.0
2007	50,528,584	1.07%	41.4	22.7
2006	49,998,277	1.04%	41.0	22.4
2005	49,490,032	1.00%	40.5	22.1
2004	48,991,420	1.02%	40.1	21.9
2003	48,500,348	0.99%	39.7	21.6
2002	48,019,415	1.00%	39.3	21.3
2001	47,566,800	0.89%	39.0	21.1
2000	47,159,719	0.83%	38.6	20.8
1999	46,730,335	1.00%	38.3	20.6
1998	46,223,880	1.18%	37.9	20.3
1997	45,666,838	1.25%	37.4	20.1
1996	45,123,018	1.15%	37.0	20.2
1995	44,541,554	1.45%	36.5	20.5
1994	44,004,139	0.98%	36.0	20.9
1993	43,297,156	2.27%	35.5	20.9
1992	42,443,509	1.70%	34.8	20.5
1991	41,687,898	1.89%	34.1	20.5
1990	40,746,268	2.69%	33.4	20.3
1989	39,628,576	2.88%	32.5	20.0
1988	38,480,649	3.00%	31.5	19.8
1987	37,326,190	3.09%	30.6	19.7
1986	36,180,515	3.15%	29.6	19.5
1985	35,042,093	3.25%	28.7	19.4
1984	33,892,788	3.42%	27.8	19.2
1983	32,739,304	3.50%	26.8	19.0
1982	31,615,339	3.48%	25.9	18.8
1981	30,541,044	3.43%	25.0	18.6
1980	29,518,857	3.38%	24.2	18.4
1979	28,634,162	2.70%	23.5	18.2
1978	27,869,507	2.71%	22.8	18.1
1977	27,118,952	2.75%	22.2	18.0
1976	26,395,450	2.66%	21.6	17.9
1975	25,690,940	2.75%	21.0	17.9
1974	24,989,108	2.79%	20.5	17.8
1973	24,294,263	2.85%	19.9	17.8
1972	23,609,456	2.87%	19.3	17.7
1971	22,942,143	2.87%	18.8	17.7
1970	22,279,984	2.99%	18.3	17.7
1969	21,614,676	3.07%	17.7	17.7
1968	20,957,287	3.10%	17.2	17.8
1967	20,314,066	3.13%	16.6	17.8
1966	19,690,087	3.11%	16.1	17.8
1965	19,089,380	3.09%	15.6	17.8
1964	18,511,361	3.06%	15.2	17.8
1963	17,954,564	3.04%	14.7	17.8
1962	17,418,522	3.02%	14.3	17.8
1961	16,908,035	2.93%	13.8	17.9
1960	16,440,172	2.68%	13.5	17.9
1959	16,014,974	2.56%	13.1	18.0
1958	15,620,418	2.43%	12.8	18.1
1957	15,244,839	2.44%	12.5	18.3
1956	14,880,686	2.39%	12.2	18.4
1955	14,533,366	2.33%	11.9	18.6
1954	14,203,779	2.26%	11.6	18.7
1953	13,892,910	2.17%	11.4	18.9
1952	13,595,543	2.16%	11.1	19.0
1951	13,309,020	2.10%	10.9	19.1
1950	13,038,491	2.01%	10.7	19.2

Year	Population	Growth	Density /km²	Median age
2027	66,143,022	1.04%	54.2	29.1
2028	66,830,384	1.02%	54.7	29.3
2029	67,506,849	0.99%	55.3	29.4
2030	68,161,359	0.94%	55.8	29.6
2031	68,798,580	0.92%	56.4	29.7
2032	69,426,439	0.90%	56.9	29.9
2033	70,040,481	0.86%	57.4	30.0
2034	70,641,572	0.84%	57.9	30.0
2035	71,234,752	0.83%	58.4	30.2
2036	71,816,379	0.80%	58.8	30.3
2037	72,387,814	0.79%	59.3	30.4
2038	72,949,617	0.76%	59.8	30.6
2039	73,496,159	0.73%	60.2	30.8
2040	74,035,624	0.73%	60.6	31.0
2041	74,575,448	0.72%	61.1	31.2
2042	75,111,901	0.71%	61.5	31.3
2043	75,641,513	0.70%	62.0	31.5
2044	76,164,460	0.68%	62.4	31.6
2045	76,681,450	0.67%	62.8	31.8
2046	77,199,548	0.68%	63.2	31.9
2047	77,716,655	0.66%	63.7	32.0
2048	78,215,322	0.62%	64.1	32.1
2049	78,699,586	0.61%	64.5	32.2
2050	79,177,328	0.60%	64.9	32.3
2051	79,652,213	0.60%	65.2	32.4
2052	80,115,432	0.56%	65.6	32.6
2053	80,557,028	0.54%	66.0	32.7
2054	80,994,204	0.54%	66.3	32.9
2055	81,427,426	0.52%	66.7	33.1
2056	81,844,863	0.50%	67.0	33.3
2057	82,252,531	0.49%	67.4	33.5
2058	82,658,549	0.49%	67.7	33.6
2059	83,056,837	0.47%	68.0	33.8
2060	83,443,514	0.46%	68.4	34.0
2061	83,818,398	0.44%	68.7	34.1
2062	84,187,506	0.44%	69.0	34.2
2063	84,556,165	0.43%	69.3	34.4
2064	84,918,442	0.42%	69.6	34.5
2065	85,261,576	0.39%	69.8	34.6
2066	85,591,617	0.39%	70.1	34.8
2067	85,916,397	0.37%	70.4	34.9
2068	86,231,080	0.36%	70.6	35.0
2069	86,539,583	0.35%	70.9	35.1
2070	86,857,023	0.38%	71.1	35.2
2071	87,183,488	0.37%	71.4	35.3
2072	87,486,535	0.32%	71.7	35.4
2073	87,766,053	0.32%	71.9	35.5
2074	88,046,049	0.32%	72.1	35.6
2075	88,323,147	0.31%	72.3	35.7
2076	88,589,554	0.29%	72.6	35.8
2077	88,858,009	0.31%	72.8	35.9
2078	89,132,767	0.31%	73.0	36.0
2079	89,403,956	0.30%	73.2	36.1
2080	89,674,092	0.30%	73.5	36.2
2081	89,944,244	0.30%	73.7	36.3
2082	90,208,634	0.29%	73.9	36.4
2083	90,469,061	0.29%	74.1	36.5
2084	90,721,519	0.27%	74.3	36.6
2085	90,957,536	0.25%	74.5	36.7
2086	91,196,448	0.28%	74.7	36.8
2087	91,444,345	0.27%	74.9	36.9
2088	91,687,476	0.26%	75.1	37.0
2089	91,926,610	0.26%	75.3	37.2
2090	92,160,724	0.25%	75.5	37.3
2091	92,399,701	0.27%	75.7	37.4
2092	92,635,394	0.24%	75.9	37.5
2093	92,860,583	0.24%	76.1	37.6
2094	93,085,412	0.24%	76.2	37.7
2095	93,300,481	0.22%	76.4	37.8
2096	93,502,148	0.21%	76.6	37.9
2097	93,695,466	0.20%	76.7	38.0
2098	93,893,514	0.22%	76.9	38.1
2099	94,101,366	0.22%	77.1	38.2
2100	94,314,448	0.23%	77.3	38.3

States & provinces of South Africa by population

#	State / province	Population	Share
1	Gauteng	15,099,422	23.1%
2	KwaZulu-Natal	12,818,479	19.6%
3	Western Cape	7,433,020	11.4%
4	Eastern Cape	7,225,784	11.0%
5	Limpopo	5,404,868	8.3%
6	Mpumalanga	5,142,216	7.9%
7	North West	3,803,679	5.8%
8	Free State	2,961,864	4.5%
9	Northern Cape	1,355,629	2.1%

State populations: GeoNames (latest official figures, reference dates vary by country).

Biggest cities in South Africa

#	City	Region	Population
1	Johannesburg	Gauteng	9,418,183
2	Cape Town	Western Cape	4,772,846
3	Durban	KwaZulu-Natal	3,338,026
4	Pretoria capital	Gauteng	2,112,693
5	Soweto	Gauteng	1,695,047
6	Gqeberha	Eastern Cape	1,050,078
7	Soshanguve	Gauteng	872,309
8	Pietermaritzburg	KwaZulu-Natal	839,327
9	Evaton	Gauteng	725,468
10	Benoni	Gauteng	605,344
11	Bloemfontein	Free State	556,637
12	Thembisa	Gauteng	511,655
13	East London	Eastern Cape	478,676
14	Vereeniging	Gauteng	474,681
15	Boksburg	Gauteng	445,168

FAQ

What is the population of South Africa in 2026?

The population of South Africa is 65,453,084 in 2026, according to UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant).

What is the biggest city in South Africa?

Johannesburg is the biggest city in South Africa with 9,418,183 inhabitants; the capital is Pretoria.

Is the population of South Africa growing or shrinking?

The population of South Africa is growing at 1.05% per year.

Neighboring countries

Sources

Country data: United Nations World Population Prospects 2024, medium variant (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
City and state data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Retrieved 2026-07-06.

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