Demographics of South Africa

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South Africa has an uncommon demographic profile, marked by a highly heterogenerous population base, social issues brought on by the legacy of apartheid, divisions within ethnic groups, HIV/AIDS and emigration. Within the Rainbow Nation demography consequently plays a prominent role in public policy.

Blacks comprise of about 79.7% (2007 est.) of the population and represent different ethnic groups, including Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho and Swazi, as well as recent immigrants from other parts of Africa (particuarly Zimbabwe and Nigeria). Whites comprise of 9.1% (2007 est), comprising of the descendants of Dutch, French, English, and German settlers who began arriving at the Cape from the late 17th century, immigrants from Europe who arrived in South Africa in the twentieth century, and Portuguese who left the former Portuguese colonies of southern Africa (Angola and Mozambique) after their independence in the mid-70s. Coloureds (8.8%, 2007 est) are mixed-race people primarily descended from the earliest settlers, their slaves, and the indigenous peoples. The remaining 2.4% are categorised as ' Indian/Asian', including the descendants of Indian indentured sugar estate workers and traders who came to South Africa in the mid-19th (particularly around Natal), as well as a small Chinese population of approximately 100,000 people.

South Africa has relatively high rates of emigration. According to OECD data, countries with a large number of South African immigrants (irrespective of naturalisation) include Great Britain (141,405, 2001 est), Australia (79,425, 2001 est), United States (68,290 est, 2000 est), Canada (37680, 2001 est) and New Zealand (26,061, 2001 est). Smaller South African communities are in Portugal, Netherlands, Greece and Ireland .

Statistics

Population: 44,819,778 (2001) Population: 47,850,700 (2007 est.)

Age structure: (2001)

0-14 years: 32.1% (male 7,17 million/female 7,21 million)

15-64 years: 63% (male 13,49 million/female 14,74 million)

65 years and over: 4.9% (male 0,8 million/female 1,39 million)

Population growth rate::

1.06% (2006 est.)

-0.46% (2007 est.)

Birth rate:

20.63 births/1,000 population (2001)

17.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate:

12.6 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

22.4 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Deaths

567,488 (2004)

599,000 (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

-1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities.

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 42.5 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 47.4 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 37.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2003)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 50.7 years

male: 49.0 years

female: 52.5 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.90 children born/woman (2001 est.)

2.20 children born/woman (2006 est.)

2.16 children born/woman (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS:

Prevalence rate among those aged 2 years and older: 10.8% (2005)

people living with HIV/AIDS: 5,2 million (2006 est.)

deaths due to AIDS: 336,000 (2006 MRC est.)

deaths due to AIDS: 345,640 (ASSA2003 model's estimate for 2006)

Nationality:

noun: South African(s)

adjective: South African

Ethnic groups:

black 79.5%, white 9.2%, Coloured 8.9%, Asian 2.5% (2006 est.)

Religions:

Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, other Christian 36%, Islam 1.5%, Hinduism 1.2%, Judaism 0.3%, other 2%, unspecified 1.4%, none 14.9% (2001 census)

Languages:

11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sesotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu. Other spoken languages include San dialects, Portuguese, German, Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati and also Tamil.

Literacy:

definition: Age 15 and over, can read and write

total population: 86.4%

male: 87%

female: 85.7% (2003 est.)

total population: 85%

male: 86%

female: 85% (2000 est.)

Largest cities

The following is a list of the ten most populous cities/municipalities in the country, with their populations from the 2001 census.

Rank	Municipality	Population (2001)	Population (1996)	Percent Change from 1996-2001
1.	Johannesburg, Gauteng	3,225,812	2,639,110	22.2%
2.	Durban, KwaZulu-Natal	3,090,117	2,751,193	12.3%
3.	Cape Town, Western Cape	2,893,251	2,563,612	12.9%
4.	East Rand, Gauteng	2,480,282	2,026,807	22.4%
5.	Pretoria, Gauteng	1,985,984	1,682,701	18.0%
6.	Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape	1,005,776	969,771	3.7%
7.	East London, Eastern Cape	701,881	682,287	2.9%
8.	Vereeniging, Gauteng	658,422	597,948	10.1%
9.	Bloemfontein, Free State	645,441	603,704	6.9%
10.	Thohoyandou, Limpopo	584,469	537,454	8.7%

List of largest cities in South Africa by population

Comparison of Black South Africans and White South Africans

Black South African demographics

As of the census of 2001, there are 35,416,164 Black Africans and 8,625,050 Black African households residing in South Africa. The Black South African population density is 29/km². The density of Black households is 7/km². Black South Africans make up 79.0% of the total population.

The percentage of all Black South African households that are made up of individuals is 19.9%. The average Black household size is 4.11 members.

In South Africa, the Black population is spread out with 34.0% under the age of 15, 21.6% from 15 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 11.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age of a Black African is 21 years. For every 100 Black females there are 91.1 Black males. For every 100 Black females age 18 and over, there are 86.2 Black males.

In South Africa, 0.7% of Black residents speak Afrikaans at home, 0.5% speak English, 2.0% speak Southern Ndebele, 22.3% speak Xhosa, 30.1% speak Zulu, 11.9% speak Northern Sotho, 10.0% speak Sesotho, 10.3% speak Tswana, 3.4% speak Swati, 2.9% speak Venda, and 5.6% speak Tsonga. 0.3% of the Black African population speaks a non-official language at home.

With regard to religion, 79.9% of Black residents are Christian, 17.5% have no religion, 0.2% are Muslim, 0.0% are Jewish, 0.0% are Hindu and 2.3% have other or undetermined beliefs.

With regard to education, 22.3% of Black aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 18.5% have had some primary school, 6.9% have completed only primary school, 30.4% have had some high school education, 16.8% have finished only high school, and 5.2% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 22.0% of Black Africans have completed high school.

The percentage of Black South African housing units having a telephone and/or mobile phone in the dwelling is 31.1%. The percentage having access to a nearby phone is 57.2%, and 11.7% do not have nearby access or any access. The percentage of Black African households that have a flush or chemical toilet is 41.9%. Refuse is removed from 45.3% of Black African households by the municipality at least once a week, and 11.0% have no rubbish disposal. Some 17.9% of Black Africans have running water inside their dwelling, 51.7% have running water on their property, and 80.2% have access to running water. The percentage of Black African households using electricity for cooking is 39.3%, for heating, 37.2%, and for lighting, 62.0%. Radios are owned by 68.7% of Black African households while 44.2% have a television, 1.8% own a computer, 40.0% have a refrigerator, and 24.6% have a mobile phone.

The unemployment rate of the Black population aged 15-65 is 28.1%.

The median annual income of Black working adults aged 15-65 is ZAR 12,073. Black African males have a median annual income of ZAR 14,162 versus ZAR 8,903 for Black African females.

White South African demographics

As of the census of 2001, there are 4,293,640 Whites and 1,409,690 White households residing in South Africa. The White population density is 4/km². The density of White households is 1.16/km². Whites make up 9.6% of the total population.

The percentage of all White households that are made up of individuals is 19.1%. The average White household size is 3.05 members.

In South Africa, the White population is spread out with 19.0% under the age of 15, 15.1% from 15 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age of a White is 35 years. For every 100 White females there are 94.0 White males. For every 100 White females age 18 and over, there are 91.1 White males.

In South Africa, 59.1% of White residents speak Afrikaans at home, 39.3% speak English and 0.1% speak Xhosa. 1.1% of the White population speaks a non-official language at home.

With regard to religion, 86.8% of White residents are Christian, 8.8% have no religion, 0.2% are Muslim, 1.4% are Jewish, and 2.7% have other or undetermined beliefs.

With regard to education, 1.4% of Whites aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 1.2% have had some primary school, 0.8% have completed only primary school, 25.9% have had some high school education, 40.9% have finished only high school, and 29.8% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 70.7% of Whites have completed high school.

The percentage of White housing units having a telephone and/or mobile phone in the dwelling is 95.4%. The percentage having access to a nearby phone is 4.4%, and 0.2% do not have nearby access or any access. The percentage of White households that have a flush or chemical toilet is 98.7%. Refuse is removed from 90.8% of White households by the municipality at least once a week, and 0.5% have no rubbish disposal. Some 87.2% of White have running water inside their dwelling, 95.6% have running water on their property, and 99.4% have access to running water. The percentage of White households using electricity for cooking is 96.6%, for heating, 93.2%, and for lighting, 99.2%. Radios are owned by 94.7% of White households while 92.6% have a television, 46.0% own a computer, 97.6% have a refrigerator, and 74.6% have a mobile phone.

The unemployment rate of the White population aged 15-65 is 4.1%.

The median annual income of White working adults aged 15-65 is ZAR 65,405. White males have a median annual income of ZAR 81,701 versus ZAR 52,392 for White females. The annual income distribution of Whites in South Africa is 79.

South African Population Figures for the 1904 Census

		Cape Colony	Natal	Transvaal	Orange River Colony	Total	Percent
	Black	1,424,787	904,041	937,127	225,101	3,491,056	67.45%
	White	579,741	97,109	297,277	142,679	1,116,805	21.58%
	Coloured	395,034	6,686	24,226	19,282	445,228	8.6%
	Asiatic	10,242	100,918	11,321	253	122,734	2.37%