South Africa's population growth has been relatively stable over the past few decades.
Despite challenges such as the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 epidemics, which significantly affected life expectancy and population growth, the population has been on a steady upward trend, supported by improvements in healthcare and socioeconomic conditions.
South Africa's population grew by 835,513 people over the year to 63.02 million, an increase of 1.33 per cent from July 2023 to July 2024, according to the latest mid-year population estimates for 2024 from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
"The data reveals that over half of the population is female, totalling around 32 million people," Stats SA said in a statement.
Gauteng province remains the country's most populous region, with nearly 16 million people. KwaZulu-Natal is second with 12.3 million. The two provinces are home to about 45 per cent of South Africa's population.
The least populated region is the Northern Cape, with 1.4 million people.
Stats SA also noted that life expectancy in South Africa has increased significantly due to advances in medicine, public health, and socio-economic development.
"Life expectancy at birth is now 66.5 years, a significant increase from the estimated 53.6 years in 2005," the analysts said.
