South African Census
South Africa’s population grew by more than 10 million to just over 62 million over the past decade, the country’s statistics agency said. Image: Supplied

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Census: Here’s how many people are in the country

According to Census, South Africa’s population grew by more than 10 million to just over 62 million over the past decade.

11-10-23 11:44
South African Census
South Africa’s population grew by more than 10 million to just over 62 million over the past decade, the country’s statistics agency said. Image: Supplied

South Africa’s population grew by more than 10 million to 62 million over the past decade, the country’s statistics agency said on Tuesday as it unveiled the results of a new census.

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StatsSA said this marked a 19.8 percent increase from 51.8 million in 2011 when the last census was conducted.

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“This is the fourth census undertaken since the advent of democracy in 1994, and, as such, it contributes to a vast body of knowledge that describes the state and the progress of our nation,” President Cyril Ramaphosa told a press conference in Pretoria.

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The census carried out in 2022 found that more than 81 percent of South Africans were Black Africans, 8.1 percent identified as “coloured” or mixed-race, 7.3 percent were white and 2.7 percent of Indian or Asian descent.

StatsSA head Risenga Maluleke said the figure for the white population was “of interest”, with its share of the total having dropped from nine percent in 2011.

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Gauteng, the province home to the country’s economic capital Johannesburg, was the most populous region with more than 15 million people, the census found.

Gauteng and the Western Cape have also received the largest influx of new residents.

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Almost all households now had access to electricity and more than eight in 10 to running water, StatsSA said.

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Province1994200120112022
Gauteng7 834 6209 390 52812 272 26315 098 907
KwaZulu-Natal8 572 3029 584 12910 267 30012 423 907
Western Cape3 956 8754 524 3355 822 7347 430 487
Eastern Cape6 147 2446 278 6516 562 0537 230 204
Limpopo4 576 1334 995 4625 404 8686 572 666
Mpumalanga3 124 2033 365 9574 039 9395 143 040
North West2 726 8282 982 0643 509 9533 804 779
Free State2 633 5042 706 7752 745 5902 964 412
Northern Cape1 011 864991 8761 145 8611 355 945
TOTAL40 583 57344 819 77751 770 56162 024 347