Country or area · Southern Africa · Africa · UN WPP 2024

South Africa population

South Africa population now

65,622,244

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 64.4–67.2 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 63,212,384

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 65.4531 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 64.4–67.2 million
Median age: 29.9
Aged 65+: 7.1%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 10,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

ZAF · 1950–2100 · in brief

South Africa in numbers

South Africa had 63,212,384 people in mid-2023, the 24th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.78% of the world's people. That is 4.8 times its 1950 population of 13.0 million.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 94.3 million. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 53.3 million to 159 million.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 20.2 in 1950 and 29.2 in 2023; the projection has 39.3 in 2100. 6.5% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 18.8% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Among countries it ranks 24th in 2023, 23rd in 2050 and 25th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes France in 2029, Thailand in 2035 and the United Kingdom in 2040. It is overtaken by Kenya in 2040, Sudan in 2043 and Uganda in 2043.

Population, mid-2023: 63,212,384
Rank by population, 2023: 24 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.78%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +1.34% · +833,974 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 52
Land area, 2023: 1,213,090 km²
Births, 2023: 1,186,793
Deaths, 2023: 584,015
Net migration, 2023: +228,222
Children per woman, 2023: 2.22
Median age, 2023: 29.2 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 66.1 years
In a city, 2025: 50 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 13,038,491
Projected, mid-2050: 79,177,328
Projected, mid-2100: 94,314,448

ZAF · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections050 m100 m150 m200 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: South Africa, 1950–2100

South Africa: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	12,907,715		534,108	281,293	6.03	43.1
1951	estimate	13,169,267		546,874	275,288	6.06	44.1
1952	estimate	13,448,773		559,047	269,518	6.08	45.0
1953	estimate	13,742,313		570,665	263,912	6.09	46.0
1954	estimate	14,043,507		581,444	257,799	6.11	47.1
1955	estimate	14,364,051		593,446	252,075	6.13	48.2
1956	estimate	14,702,680		604,746	246,575	6.13	49.2
1957	estimate	15,058,693		617,087	241,806	6.14	50.2
1958	estimate	15,430,985		630,445	237,465	6.14	51.1
1959	estimate	15,809,851		640,756	235,104	6.13	51.9
1960	estimate	16,220,097		654,647	233,377	6.11	52.6
1961	estimate	16,660,246		671,921	234,075	6.08	53.1
1962	estimate	17,155,824		691,059	235,424	6.05	53.6
1963	estimate	17,681,221		712,678	238,844	6.01	53.9
1964	estimate	18,227,907		733,055	242,442	5.96	54.2
1965	estimate	18,794,816		753,872	247,250	5.89	54.4
1966	estimate	19,383,945		786,790	251,936	5.91	54.7
1967	estimate	19,996,228		811,124	257,377	5.85	55.0
1968	estimate	20,631,903		834,361	262,519	5.78	55.2
1969	estimate	21,282,671		858,270	267,488	5.72	55.4
1970	estimate	21,946,681		877,296	272,204	5.63	55.7
1971	estimate	22,613,287		900,469	275,722	5.57	56.0
1972	estimate	23,270,999		917,234	278,473	5.49	56.4
1973	estimate	23,947,913		932,746	281,165	5.41	56.7
1974	estimate	24,640,613		941,247	282,790	5.30	57.1
1975	estimate	25,337,604		950,848	282,983	5.19	57.6
1976	estimate	26,044,276		958,964	283,951	5.07	58.0
1977	estimate	26,746,624		964,558	283,642	4.94	58.5
1978	estimate	27,491,280		977,732	283,388	4.85	59.0
1979	estimate	28,247,735		1,000,535	284,007	4.82	59.5
1980	estimate	29,020,589		1,023,204	284,796	4.78	60.0
1981	estimate	30,017,126		1,056,276	288,427	4.71	60.5
1982	estimate	31,064,963		1,100,132	292,565	4.70	60.9
1983	estimate	32,165,714		1,133,794	296,794	4.63	61.4
1984	estimate	33,312,895		1,170,227	301,221	4.57	61.8
1985	estimate	34,472,681		1,200,048	306,174	4.50	62.2
1986	estimate	35,611,505		1,215,553	311,905	4.41	62.4
1987	estimate	36,749,525		1,239,142	316,825	4.35	62.7
1988	estimate	37,902,856		1,230,450	321,239	4.18	62.9
1989	estimate	39,058,441		1,211,699	327,044	3.98	63.0
1990	estimate	40,198,710		1,170,837	335,441	3.72	62.9
1991	estimate	41,293,825		1,170,388	343,105	3.62	63.0
1992	estimate	42,081,971		1,146,706	352,290	3.48	62.8
1993	estimate	42,805,047		1,152,235	362,996	3.37	62.6
1994	estimate	43,789,266		1,081,586	382,979	3.26	62.1
1995	estimate	44,219,013		1,140,808	397,323	3.17	61.6
1996	estimate	44,864,096		1,121,611	410,766	2.99	61.1
1997	estimate	45,381,940		1,091,868	423,892	2.73	60.5
1998	estimate	45,951,736		1,070,114	443,106	2.63	59.9
1999	estimate	46,496,025		1,060,762	466,121	2.56	59.2
2000	estimate	46,964,645		1,017,081	490,137	2.41	58.4
2001	estimate	47,354,792		1,011,545	526,754	2.37	57.2
2002	estimate	47,778,809		1,004,942	574,032	2.32	55.6
2003	estimate	48,260,021		1,037,337	622,286	2.36	54.3
2004	estimate	48,740,675		1,084,498	641,920	2.44	54.0
2005	estimate	49,242,166		1,124,291	659,851	2.51	53.9
2006	estimate	49,737,899		1,157,144	669,557	2.55	54.2
2007	estimate	50,258,655		1,166,581	663,057	2.54	55.0
2008	estimate	50,798,512		1,243,597	648,293	2.68	56.0
2009	estimate	51,430,685		1,178,323	624,185	2.50	57.4
2010	estimate	52,026,347		1,160,896	594,053	2.44	58.9
2011	estimate	52,661,755		1,169,887	568,153	2.44	60.6
2012	estimate	53,328,655		1,189,588	545,855	2.45	61.7
2013	estimate	54,236,478		1,197,126	544,732	2.43	62.4
2014	estimate	55,121,105		1,211,091	536,325	2.42	63.2
2015	estimate	56,068,572		1,191,603	522,818	2.36	64.0
2016	estimate	57,378,501		1,160,623	519,286	2.26	64.8
2017	estimate	57,140,601		1,154,876	508,904	2.28	65.4
2018	estimate	58,129,723		1,163,460	515,166	2.27	65.7
2019	estimate	59,096,278		1,173,511	521,416	2.26	66.1
2020	estimate	60,079,493		1,182,285	586,414	2.26	65.2
2021	estimate	61,045,269		1,190,312	733,895	2.25	62.0
2022	estimate	61,959,937		1,190,146	586,476	2.23	65.5
2023	estimate	62,796,883		1,186,793	584,015	2.22	66.1
2024	estimate	63,627,884		1,182,869	591,233	2.21	66.3
2025	projection	64,386,489	63.8–64.9 million	1,175,749	600,461	2.19	66.5
2026	projection	65,108,150	64.1–66.1 million	1,167,803	609,623	2.17	66.7
2027	projection	65,798,019	64.4–67.2 million	1,162,164	618,698	2.15	66.8
2028	projection	66,488,024	64.7–68.4 million	1,156,824	627,925	2.13	67.0
2029	projection	67,172,745	65.1–69.5 million	1,152,475	637,396	2.12	67.2
2030	projection	67,840,954	65.3–70.6 million	1,146,101	646,542	2.10	67.3
2031	projection	68,481,764	65.6–71.7 million	1,140,828	656,227	2.09	67.5
2032	projection	69,115,395	65.9–72.8 million	1,136,735	665,798	2.07	67.6
2033	projection	69,737,482	66.2–73.9 million	1,132,757	675,509	2.06	67.8
2034	projection	70,343,479	66.4–75.1 million	1,128,749	685,277	2.05	68.0
2035	projection	70,939,665	66.6–75.9 million	1,125,172	695,676	2.04	68.1
2036	projection	71,529,839	66.8–77.0 million	1,123,335	705,652	2.03	68.3
2037	projection	72,102,918	67.2–78.1 million	1,122,510	715,605	2.02	68.4
2038	projection	72,672,709	67.3–78.9 million	1,123,447	725,965	2.00	68.6
2039	projection	73,226,524	67.4–80.0 million	1,125,558	736,271	1.99	68.7
2040	projection	73,765,793	67.5–81.0 million	1,128,321	746,795	1.98	68.9
2041	projection	74,305,454	67.6–82.0 million	1,133,383	757,226	1.98	69.0
2042	projection	74,845,442	67.7–82.9 million	1,137,658	767,672	1.97	69.2
2043	projection	75,378,359	67.9–84.0 million	1,142,338	777,665	1.96	69.3
2044	projection	75,904,667	67.8–85.2 million	1,146,175	788,198	1.95	69.5
2045	projection	76,424,253	68.0–86.3 million	1,148,712	798,043	1.94	69.6
2046	projection	76,938,646	68.1–87.5 million	1,150,021	808,587	1.93	69.8
2047	projection	77,460,449	68.1–88.5 million	1,149,967	818,781	1.92	69.9
2048	projection	77,972,860	68.1–89.8 million	1,148,332	829,025	1.91	70.0
2049	projection	78,457,785	68.1–91.0 million	1,145,550	839,200	1.90	70.2
2050	projection	78,941,387	68.3–92.2 million	1,142,135	848,631	1.89	70.3
2051	projection	79,413,269	68.4–93.2 million	1,139,682	858,426	1.89	70.5
2052	projection	79,891,157	68.4–94.4 million	1,140,121	868,179	1.88	70.6
2053	projection	80,339,706	68.4–95.8 million	1,138,526	877,701	1.88	70.8
2054	projection	80,774,350	68.4–96.9 million	1,137,402	886,930	1.87	70.9
2055	projection	81,214,058	68.4–97.5 million	1,136,129	896,094	1.87	71.0
2056	projection	81,640,795	68.3–98.8 million	1,134,258	905,101	1.86	71.2
2057	projection	82,048,930	68.1–100.0 million	1,133,340	913,627	1.85	71.3
2058	projection	82,456,132	68.0–101.2 million	1,131,900	921,312	1.85	71.5
2059	projection	82,860,967	67.8–102.6 million	1,131,634	929,595	1.84	71.6
2060	projection	83,252,708	67.7–104.0 million	1,130,739	937,376	1.84	71.7
2061	projection	83,634,319	67.4–104.8 million	1,129,537	944,798	1.83	71.9
2062	projection	84,002,476	67.1–106.6 million	1,127,610	951,975	1.83	72.0
2063	projection	84,372,536	67.1–107.7 million	1,124,860	959,474	1.82	72.2
2064	projection	84,739,794	67.0–108.9 million	1,124,285	966,453	1.82	72.3
2065	projection	85,097,090	66.8–109.8 million	1,124,323	973,659	1.81	72.4
2066	projection	85,426,063	66.3–111.1 million	1,122,713	980,575	1.81	72.6
2067	projection	85,757,171	66.2–112.5 million	1,120,719	987,035	1.81	72.7
2068	projection	86,075,622	65.9–114.1 million	1,119,028	992,865	1.80	72.9
2069	projection	86,386,539	65.5–115.0 million	1,118,521	998,927	1.80	73.0
2070	projection	86,692,627	65.2–116.2 million	1,118,425	1,004,218	1.80	73.1
2071	projection	87,021,419	64.8–117.4 million	1,117,814	1,009,821	1.79	73.3
2072	projection	87,345,556	64.7–118.2 million	1,117,500	1,015,221	1.79	73.4
2073	projection	87,627,514	64.4–120.0 million	1,116,802	1,019,719	1.79	73.6
2074	projection	87,904,593	64.1–120.1 million	1,115,758	1,023,784	1.78	73.7
2075	projection	88,187,506	63.8–121.8 million	1,115,172	1,028,157	1.78	73.8
2076	projection	88,458,788	63.4–123.5 million	1,114,268	1,031,748	1.78	74.0
2077	projection	88,720,321	63.2–124.6 million	1,113,426	1,034,881	1.78	74.1
2078	projection	88,995,697	63.1–125.2 million	1,110,812	1,037,282	1.77	74.3
2079	projection	89,269,837	62.5–126.8 million	1,111,392	1,040,269	1.77	74.4
2080	projection	89,538,075	62.2–128.1 million	1,112,245	1,043,581	1.77	74.5
2081	projection	89,810,110	61.8–129.2 million	1,112,138	1,046,153	1.76	74.7
2082	projection	90,078,378	61.5–130.5 million	1,112,991	1,048,319	1.76	74.8
2083	projection	90,338,891	61.5–132.5 million	1,112,966	1,050,443	1.76	75.0
2084	projection	90,599,232	61.0–134.1 million	1,112,416	1,052,517	1.76	75.1
2085	projection	90,843,806	60.8–135.3 million	1,111,675	1,054,073	1.76	75.2
2086	projection	91,071,265	60.3–136.7 million	1,110,215	1,055,498	1.76	75.4
2087	projection	91,321,632	60.0–138.4 million	1,110,664	1,057,134	1.76	75.5
2088	projection	91,567,059	59.6–139.5 million	1,109,522	1,058,228	1.75	75.7
2089	projection	91,807,893	59.0–141.4 million	1,108,283	1,060,799	1.75	75.8
2090	projection	92,045,326	58.3–142.8 million	1,106,982	1,062,063	1.75	75.9
2091	projection	92,276,122	57.9–145.3 million	1,106,072	1,064,211	1.75	76.1
2092	projection	92,523,281	57.5–145.8 million	1,106,149	1,065,698	1.75	76.2
2093	projection	92,747,506	57.0–147.1 million	1,105,968	1,068,069	1.75	76.3
2094	projection	92,973,661	56.6–148.8 million	1,105,990	1,070,198	1.75	76.5
2095	projection	93,197,163	56.1–150.7 million	1,104,382	1,072,060	1.75	76.6
2096	projection	93,403,800	55.7–152.7 million	1,102,609	1,074,779	1.74	76.8
2097	projection	93,600,495	55.2–154.1 million	1,102,865	1,077,679	1.75	76.9
2098	projection	93,790,436	54.7–155.4 million	1,101,224	1,079,615	1.74	77.0
2099	projection	93,996,592	53.7–157.0 million	1,101,663	1,081,725	1.74	77.2
2100	projection	94,206,139	53.3–158.6 million	1,102,124	1,084,554	1.74	77.3

Show the numbers: South Africa, mid-2026, by single year of age

South Africa: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	585,744	566,514
1	588,092	569,564
2	588,958	570,744
3	588,201	570,194
4	603,472	595,481
5	607,380	608,460
6	588,946	589,364
7	571,382	571,203
8	549,116	547,882
9	529,716	527,726
10	518,279	515,551
11	516,093	513,419
12	521,532	519,403
13	528,477	525,991
14	534,009	530,660
15	539,473	535,749
16	545,004	541,188
17	549,614	545,796
18	553,170	549,388
19	554,812	549,832
20	549,889	542,483
21	536,086	526,612
22	520,159	508,802
23	513,616	500,263
24	519,270	505,398
25	530,814	518,482
26	540,440	531,623
27	543,490	540,322
28	544,055	547,016
29	548,406	556,494
30	555,054	567,428
31	558,208	574,556
32	557,332	576,398
33	557,370	576,290
34	559,692	576,116
35	559,386	572,744
36	553,632	565,046
37	544,314	555,696
38	535,154	546,921
39	528,290	539,164
40	520,667	530,476
41	510,655	519,959
42	495,374	504,156
43	474,871	482,680
44	457,188	462,733
45	438,315	441,902
46	414,999	418,918
47	391,226	397,980
48	365,333	376,822
49	341,305	357,167
50	321,784	341,806
51	305,876	330,852
52	292,674	322,105
53	279,479	312,439
54	268,597	305,343
55	258,972	300,208
56	247,522	293,289
57	234,714	284,885
58	221,762	275,747
59	211,288	267,873
60	204,607	263,414
61	201,396	262,657
62	197,162	259,560
63	189,635	251,581
64	181,320	242,872
65	172,280	233,458
66	163,550	223,743
67	154,849	213,688
68	144,461	201,427
69	133,272	188,049
70	122,113	175,474
71	112,482	165,166
72	103,979	155,122
73	94,932	143,654
74	86,074	132,659
75	75,178	119,665
76	63,330	105,336
77	53,822	93,036
78	45,472	81,352
79	37,562	69,864
80	31,597	61,003
81	27,744	55,419
82	24,979	51,788
83	22,544	48,604
84	19,714	44,496
85	17,093	40,484
86	14,810	36,742
87	12,704	32,891
88	10,772	29,014
89	8,950	24,979
90	7,472	21,236
91	6,442	18,191
92	5,687	15,761
93	4,902	13,391
94	3,976	10,786
95	3,107	8,378
96	2,378	6,348
97	1,781	4,691
98	1,308	3,394
99	927	2,375
100+	1,954	4,985

ZAF · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

South Africa, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

ZAF · ages 15–64

Who does the work in South Africa

In South Africa the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 42,605,200 of them.

100 aged 15–64

39 children

10 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 33 years: 2020–2052.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: 1950 on the left, 2100 on the right; coloured in the years with fewer than 50 dependants per 100 working-age people, grey in the rest, hatched where that is a projection.

How every country compares

ZAF · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in South Africa, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 South Africa gains 268,971 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 68,850 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 10,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

In the years that were counted, 1950–2023, the most it gained in one year was 641,150 (2015) and the most it lost was 879,235 (2016).

In 2024, 2,631,100 people living in South Africa had been born in another country, 4 of every 100 people there, against 3 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

ZAF · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in South Africa

Of every 100 babies born in South Africa in 2023, 11 had a mother under 20, 70 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 19 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 9 under 20 and 21 aged 35 or older.

1950
9 · 70 · 21

2023
11 · 70 · 19

2050 · projected
11 · 68 · 21

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 1,186,793
Average age when women have a baby: 28.3 years; 30.3 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 52; 73 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in South Africa by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	2,634	9,016	3,740	2,730	2,884	847
15–19	42,773	112,869	181,962	133,707	118,954	46,563
20–24	136,135	258,276	275,609	282,440	321,120	214,200
25–29	136,766	254,728	247,463	298,259	284,230	304,169
30–34	103,283	168,176	174,048	245,683	167,561	240,697
35–39	69,551	88,732	97,982	164,774	158,617	206,607
40–44	35,411	48,397	31,246	53,896	80,926	81,601
45–49	7,195	10,107	4,880	5,218	7,700	7,331
50–54	360	547	151	86	143	109
All babies	534,108	950,848	1,017,081	1,186,793	1,142,135	1,102,124

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

ZAF · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in South Africa

A baby born in South Africa in 2021 could expect 61.5 years of life, 52.8 of them in full health (95% range 52.0–53.4). The years in less than full health come to 8.7, below the world's 9.5: shorter lives leave fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

53.8 in full health, 10.2 not: 64.0 years

Men

51.7 in full health, 7.2 not: 58.9 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 53.8 healthy years of 64.0. Men: 51.7 of 58.9. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 56.3.

ZAF · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in South Africa

At the end of 2025, South Africa was hosting 137,535 people who had crossed a border into it, about 2 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad137,535
South Africa nationals abroad3,894

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: each square is 5,000 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from South Africa living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 5,324 people asked for asylum in South Africa for the first time; 923 people from South Africa asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from South Africa whose claims were decided that year, 15 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

ZAF · of every 100 people

How people live in South Africa

Of every 100 people in South Africa in 2025, 50 lived in a city, 29 in a town or suburb and 21 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

9.8 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 21.6 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

ZAF · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in South Africa went in school

Of every 100 adults in South Africa in 2020, 7 never went to school and 47 finished upper secondary or went further.

7 never went to school 10 some primary 11 finished primary 25 finished lower secondary 39 finished upper secondary 8 studied after school

Among women, 1.2 of every 100 aged 25–29 never went to school, against 15.7 of every 100 aged 60–64; among men, 1.4 against 12.4.

Its people aged 15 to 64 are projected to be most numerous in 2050; the ones who finished upper secondary are most numerous later, in 2070.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

ZAF · cities · 2025

Cities in South Africa

South Africa had 95 cities in 2025, home to 32.7 million people. The largest, Johannesburg, holds 11 of every 100 people in South Africa.

Johannesburg7,077,175
Cape Town4,508,921
Durban3,177,927
Pretoria1,836,166
Klipgat1,300,816
Tembisa1,298,512
Evaton773,229
Gqeberha661,220
Masetjhaba View522,402
Bloemfontein496,295

All 23 cities in South Africa that reach 300,000 people

Johannesburg 7,077,175
Cape Town 4,508,921
Durban 3,177,927
Pretoria 1,836,166
Klipgat 1,300,816
Tembisa 1,298,512
Evaton 773,229
Gqeberha 661,220
Masetjhaba View 522,402
Bloemfontein 496,295
Polokwane 451,786
Chief Albert Luthuli Park 441,204
Edendale 342,930
Kanyamazane 292,211
Kimberley 271,078
Paarl 259,665
Vanderbijlpark 257,093
Centurion 255,900
Somerset West 239,943
Rustenburg 220,723
Botshabelo-N 218,046
Ennerdale 210,428
Paardekraal Ext 2 119,589

How to read this: the 10 largest cities in 2025, bars on one scale. A city is the whole built-up area on the UN's rule, not the city's own boundary.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for South Africa are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.