Australia vs South Africa: Number of children, working-age adults, and older people
Australia
4.59 million people
in 2023
South Africa
4.11 million people
in 2023
Australia rank
29th
South Africa rank
31st
Number of children, working-age adults, and older people over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
Australia currently reports 4.59 million people against 4.11 million people in South Africa, a difference of 479,820 people.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
Across all 74 years both countries report, Australia has been ahead every year.
Australia ranks 29th and South Africa ranks 31st of 236 countries.
Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 761,803 people | 532,068 people | 229,735 people | Australia |
| 1960s | 956,252 people | 648,519 people | 307,733 people | Australia |
| 1970s | 1.20 million people | 938,457 people | 262,249 people | Australia |
| 1980s | 1.61 million people | 1.35 million people | 256,737 people | Australia |
| 1990s | 2.11 million people | 1.86 million people | 251,714 people | Australia |
| 2000s | 2.60 million people | 2.48 million people | 118,233 people | Australia |
| 2010s | 3.51 million people | 3.05 million people | 459,296 people | Australia |
| 2020s | 4.40 million people | 3.90 million people | 501,048 people | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of children, working-age adults, and older people, Australia or South Africa?
- Australia, at 4.59 million people against 4.11 million people in South Africa as of 2023.
- What is the difference in number of children, working-age adults, and older people between Australia and South Africa?
- 479,820 people, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for number of children, working-age adults, and older people?
- Australia ranks 29th and South Africa ranks 31st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Number of children, working-age adults, and older people. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 65+.