Russian Federation vs South Africa: Urban and rural population projected to 2050

Russian Federation
25.81 million people
in 2050
South Africa
23.02 million people
in 2050
Russian Federation rank
23rd
South Africa rank
26th

Urban and rural population projected to 2050 over time

  • Russian Federation
  • South Africa
025.0M50.0M75.0M100.0M100015252050

How they compare

Russian Federation currently reports 25.81 million people against 23.02 million people in South Africa, a difference of 2.79 million people.

That makes Russian Federation's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.

Across all 133 years both countries report, Russian Federation has been ahead every year.

Russian Federation ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 26th of 238 countries.

Russian Federation has averaged higher in every one of the 43 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Russian Federation South Africa Difference Ahead
1000s 2.52 million people 257,995 people 2.26 million people Russian Federation
1100s 3.78 million people 309,582 people 3.47 million people Russian Federation
1200s 5.67 million people 361,137 people 5.31 million people Russian Federation
1300s 5.87 million people 412,584 people 5.45 million people Russian Federation
1400s 5.86 million people 463,671 people 5.40 million people Russian Federation
1500s 7.54 million people 513,569 people 7.03 million people Russian Federation
1600s 9.39 million people 593,492 people 8.79 million people Russian Federation
1700s 10.50 million people 823,536 people 9.67 million people Russian Federation
1710s 12.78 million people 803,312 people 11.97 million people Russian Federation
1720s 15.06 million people 783,268 people 14.27 million people Russian Federation
1730s 17.34 million people 763,403 people 16.57 million people Russian Federation
1740s 19.62 million people 743,718 people 18.88 million people Russian Federation
1750s 21.90 million people 724,212 people 21.18 million people Russian Federation
1760s 24.18 million people 704,887 people 23.48 million people Russian Federation
1770s 26.46 million people 685,741 people 25.78 million people Russian Federation
1780s 28.74 million people 666,774 people 28.08 million people Russian Federation
1790s 31.02 million people 647,988 people 30.38 million people Russian Federation
1800s 33.30 million people 629,381 people 32.67 million people Russian Federation
1810s 35.61 million people 610,954 people 34.99 million people Russian Federation
1820s 37.76 million people 592,706 people 37.17 million people Russian Federation
1830s 40.08 million people 574,638 people 39.50 million people Russian Federation
1840s 47.07 million people 556,750 people 46.51 million people Russian Federation
1850s 50.48 million people 651,233 people 49.83 million people Russian Federation
1860s 57.25 million people 797,821 people 56.45 million people Russian Federation
1870s 61.09 million people 1.05 million people 60.03 million people Russian Federation
1880s 68.91 million people 2.07 million people 66.84 million people Russian Federation
1890s 77.19 million people 2.52 million people 74.67 million people Russian Federation
1900s 83.86 million people 3.49 million people 80.37 million people Russian Federation
1910s 99.98 million people 4.54 million people 95.45 million people Russian Federation
1920s 86.75 million people 5.43 million people 81.32 million people Russian Federation
1930s 89.59 million people 6.42 million people 83.18 million people Russian Federation
1940s 100.34 million people 7.35 million people 92.99 million people Russian Federation
1950s 56.67 million people 8.00 million people 48.67 million people Russian Federation
1960s 52.71 million people 9.96 million people 42.75 million people Russian Federation
1970s 45.19 million people 13.18 million people 32.00 million people Russian Federation
1980s 40.33 million people 17.42 million people 22.91 million people Russian Federation
1990s 39.72 million people 20.51 million people 19.22 million people Russian Federation
2000s 38.69 million people 19.99 million people 18.69 million people Russian Federation
2010s 37.46 million people 20.62 million people 16.84 million people Russian Federation
2020s 35.78 million people 23.23 million people 12.55 million people Russian Federation
2030s 32.30 million people 24.30 million people 8.00 million people Russian Federation
2040s 28.26 million people 23.81 million people 4.45 million people Russian Federation
2050s 25.81 million people 23.02 million people 2.79 million people Russian Federation

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher urban and rural population projected to 2050, Russian Federation or South Africa?
Russian Federation, at 25.81 million people against 23.02 million people in South Africa as of 2050.
What is the difference in urban and rural population projected to 2050 between Russian Federation and South Africa?
2.79 million people, with Russian Federation ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Russian Federation and South Africa?
133 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2050.
How do Russian Federation and South Africa rank globally for urban and rural population projected to 2050?
Russian Federation ranks 23rd and South Africa ranks 26th of 238 countries.
Where does this data come from?
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Urban and rural population projected to 2050. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Russian Federation vs South Africa: Urban and rural population projected to 2050. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/urban-and-rural-population-2050/russian-federation/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Urban and rural population projected to 2050
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 30,401 data points, 1000–2050
Last refreshed

Number of people living in rural areas, combining UN estimates and projections with modeled historical data.