South Africa vs Spain: Historical population data
Historical population data over time
- South Africa
- Spain
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 63.10 million Persons against 49.36 million Persons in Spain, a difference of 13.75 million Persons.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.3 times Spain's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Spain ahead.
South Africa ranks 13th and Spain ranks 16th of 43 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 4 and Spain in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Africa | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 14.43 million Persons | 29.02 million Persons | 14.58 million Persons | Spain |
| 1960s | 18.89 million Persons | 31.85 million Persons | 12.96 million Persons | Spain |
| 1970s | 25.38 million Persons | 35.54 million Persons | 10.16 million Persons | Spain |
| 1980s | 34.50 million Persons | 38.31 million Persons | 3.81 million Persons | Spain |
| 1990s | 44.05 million Persons | 39.61 million Persons | 4.44 million Persons | South Africa |
| 2000s | 48.26 million Persons | 43.34 million Persons | 4.92 million Persons | South Africa |
| 2010s | 55.20 million Persons | 46.62 million Persons | 8.58 million Persons | South Africa |
| 2020s | 61.30 million Persons | 48.16 million Persons | 13.14 million Persons | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher historical population data, South Africa or Spain?
- South Africa, at 63.10 million Persons against 49.36 million Persons in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in historical population data between South Africa and Spain?
- 13.75 million Persons, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Spain?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do South Africa and Spain rank globally for historical population data?
- South Africa ranks 13th and Spain ranks 16th of 43 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Historical population data. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
This dataset presents annual population data from 1961 by sex and five year age groups as well as the share of children, youth, the elderly, old-age and total dependency ratios. The data is available for all member countries as well as for the EU27 and G20 countries, Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and the World total. The data refer to mid-year estimates of the population. See country details in Historical population metadata.