France vs South Africa: The global population hockey stick
France
66.44 million people
in 2023
South Africa
63.21 million people
in 2023
France rank
24th
South Africa rank
25th
The global population hockey stick over time
- France
- South Africa
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 24th and South Africa ranks 25th of 239 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 the global population hockey stick, 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 the global population hockey stick 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 the global population hockey stick?
- France ranks 24th and South Africa ranks 25th of 239 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as The global population hockey stick. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.