World Factbook
South Africa
Republic of South Africa
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
91.5% (2024 est.)
female
90.8% (2024 est.)
total population
91.2% (2024 est.)
Languages
note
note: data represent language spoken most often at home
Languages
isiZulu or Zulu (official) 25.3%, isiXhosa or Xhosa (official) 14.8%, Afrikaans (official) 12.2%, Sepedi or Pedi (official) 10.1%, Setswana or Tswana (official) 9.1%, English (official) 8.1%, Sesotho or Sotho (official) 7.9%, Xitsonga or Tsonga (official) 3.6%, siSwati or Swati (official) 2.8%, Tshivenda or Venda (official) 2.5%, isiNdebele or Ndebele (official) 1.6%, other (includes South African sign language (official) and Khoi or Khoisan or Khoe languages) 2% (2018 est.)
major-language sample(s)
Die Wereld Feite Boek, n’ onontbeerlike bron vir basiese informasie. (Afrikaans) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)
Religions
Christian 86%, ancestral, tribal, animist, or other traditional African religions 5.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other 1.5%, nothing in particular 5.2% (2015 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.02 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.98 male(s)/female
total population
0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.73 male(s)/female
Birth rate
17.21 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.56 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
30.1 years
total
30.7 years (2025 est.)
female
30.6 years
Population
male
29,989,969
total
61,089,926 (2025 est.)
female
31,099,957
Nationality
noun
South African(s)
adjective
South African
Tobacco use
male
35.3% (2025 est.)
total
20.1% (2025 est.)
female
6% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
68.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.72% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
27.2% (male 8,227,690/female 8,194,392)
15-64 years
65.3% (male 19,524,873/female 19,947,839)
65 years and over
7.5% (2024 est.) (male 1,911,825/female 2,636,028)
Ethnic groups
Black African 80.9%, Colored 8.8%, White 7.8%, Indian/Asian 2.6% (2021 est.)
note: Colored is a term used in South Africa, including on the national census, for persons of mixed race ancestry who developed a distinct cultural identity over several hundred years
Child marriage
men married by age 18
0.6% (2016)
women married by age 15
0.9% (2016)
women married by age 18
3.6% (2016)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
53 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
41.1 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
8.4 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
11.8 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.79 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
8.3% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
16.9% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.23 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 84.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 94.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 15.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 5.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.9% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
6% of GDP (2024 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
19.1% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
23.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total
19.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
20 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.06% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.1 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
the population is concentrated along the southern and southeastern coast, and inland around Pretoria; the eastern half of the country is more densely populated than the west, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
70.3 years
female
73.5 years
total population
71.9 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
118 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 81.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 91.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 95.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 18.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 8.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 4.1% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
3.99 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
1.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
7.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1.31 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
10.316 million Johannesburg (includes Ekurhuleni), 4.890 million Cape Town (legislative capital), 3.228 million Durban, 2.818 million PRETORIA (administrative capital), 1.296 million Port Elizabeth, 934,000 West Rand (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
28.3% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
33.6% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
4.9% (2017 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
14 years (2022 est.)
total
14 years (2022 est.)
female
14 years (2022 est.)