Statizoid

France vs South Africa: Population

France
66.44 million people
in 2023
South Africa
63.21 million people
in 2023
France rank
23rd
South Africa rank
24th

Population over time

  • France
  • South Africa
020.0M40.0M60.0M100015112023

How they compare

France currently reports 66.44 million people against 63.21 million people in South Africa, a difference of 3.23 million people.

That makes France's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

Across all 241 years both countries report, France has been ahead every year.

France ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 24th of 238 countries.

France has averaged higher in every one of the 40 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade France South Africa Difference Ahead
1000s 6.44 million people 258,000 people 6.18 million people France
1100s 7.67 million people 309,600 people 7.36 million people France
1200s 10.36 million people 361,200 people 10.00 million people France
1300s 15.81 million people 412,800 people 15.39 million people France
1400s 10.93 million people 464,400 people 10.47 million people France
1500s 14.87 million people 516,000 people 14.35 million people France
1600s 18.31 million people 602,000 people 17.71 million people France
1700s 21.99 million people 860,000 people 21.13 million people France
1710s 22.59 million people 843,752 people 21.75 million people France
1720s 23.19 million people 827,505 people 22.37 million people France
1730s 23.79 million people 811,258 people 22.98 million people France
1740s 24.39 million people 795,011 people 23.60 million people France
1750s 24.99 million people 778,764 people 24.22 million people France
1760s 25.57 million people 762,517 people 24.81 million people France
1770s 26.15 million people 746,270 people 25.40 million people France
1780s 26.72 million people 730,023 people 25.99 million people France
1790s 27.30 million people 713,776 people 26.59 million people France
1800s 29.49 million people 1.47 million people 28.02 million people France
1810s 30.62 million people 1.54 million people 29.08 million people France
1820s 32.17 million people 1.72 million people 30.45 million people France
1830s 34.01 million people 2.14 million people 31.87 million people France
1840s 35.55 million people 2.67 million people 32.88 million people France
1850s 36.72 million people 3.16 million people 33.57 million people France
1860s 37.65 million people 3.52 million people 34.14 million people France
1870s 38.44 million people 3.91 million people 34.52 million people France
1880s 39.09 million people 4.36 million people 34.73 million people France
1890s 39.76 million people 4.85 million people 34.91 million people France
1900s 40.24 million people 5.56 million people 34.67 million people France
1910s 39.46 million people 6.56 million people 32.90 million people France
1920s 39.42 million people 7.86 million people 31.56 million people France
1930s 40.52 million people 9.64 million people 30.88 million people France
1940s 40.90 million people 11.72 million people 29.18 million people France
1950s 43.91 million people 14.43 million people 29.48 million people France
1960s 48.46 million people 18.89 million people 29.57 million people France
1970s 52.45 million people 25.38 million people 27.07 million people France
1980s 55.32 million people 34.50 million people 20.82 million people France
1990s 58.06 million people 44.05 million people 14.02 million people France
2000s 61.36 million people 49.31 million people 12.05 million people France
2010s 64.68 million people 55.92 million people 8.76 million people France
2020s 66.18 million people 61.91 million people 4.26 million people France

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher population, France or South Africa?
France, at 66.44 million people against 63.21 million people in South Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in population between France and South Africa?
3.23 million people, with France ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for France and South Africa?
241 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.
How do France and South Africa rank globally for population?
France ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 24th of 238 countries.
Where does this data come from?
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Population
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.