Statizoid

Kenya vs South Africa: The global population hockey stick

Kenya
55.34 million people
in 2023
South Africa
63.21 million people
in 2023
Kenya rank
27th
South Africa rank
25th

The global population hockey stick over time

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

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 63.21 million people against 55.34 million people in Kenya, a difference of 7.87 million people.

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

The two have swapped places 1 time across 241 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Kenya ahead.

Kenya ranks 27th and South Africa ranks 25th of 239 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Kenya averaged higher in 24 and South Africa in 16.

Head to head by decade

Decade Kenya South Africa Difference Ahead
1000s 800,000 people 258,000 people 542,000 people Kenya
1100s 940,000 people 309,600 people 630,400 people Kenya
1200s 1.08 million people 361,200 people 718,800 people Kenya
1300s 1.22 million people 412,800 people 807,200 people Kenya
1400s 1.36 million people 464,400 people 895,600 people Kenya
1500s 1.50 million people 516,000 people 984,000 people Kenya
1600s 1.75 million people 602,000 people 1.15 million people Kenya
1700s 2.00 million people 860,000 people 1.14 million people Kenya
1710s 2.05 million people 843,752 people 1.20 million people Kenya
1720s 2.07 million people 827,505 people 1.24 million people Kenya
1730s 2.10 million people 811,258 people 1.28 million people Kenya
1740s 2.12 million people 795,011 people 1.33 million people Kenya
1750s 2.15 million people 778,764 people 1.37 million people Kenya
1760s 2.18 million people 762,517 people 1.42 million people Kenya
1770s 2.21 million people 746,270 people 1.46 million people Kenya
1780s 2.24 million people 730,023 people 1.51 million people Kenya
1790s 2.28 million people 713,776 people 1.57 million people Kenya
1800s 2.64 million people 1.47 million people 1.16 million people Kenya
1810s 2.78 million people 1.54 million people 1.24 million people Kenya
1820s 2.93 million people 1.72 million people 1.21 million people Kenya
1830s 3.09 million people 2.14 million people 948,799 people Kenya
1840s 3.26 million people 2.67 million people 587,999 people Kenya
1850s 3.43 million people 3.16 million people 276,448 people Kenya
1860s 3.61 million people 3.52 million people 96,047 people Kenya
1870s 3.82 million people 3.91 million people 95,121 people South Africa
1880s 4.06 million people 4.36 million people 299,304 people South Africa
1890s 4.08 million people 4.85 million people 768,045 people South Africa
1900s 3.80 million people 5.56 million people 1.76 million people South Africa
1910s 3.58 million people 6.56 million people 2.98 million people South Africa
1920s 3.81 million people 7.86 million people 4.05 million people South Africa
1930s 4.45 million people 9.64 million people 5.19 million people South Africa
1940s 5.21 million people 11.72 million people 6.51 million people South Africa
1950s 6.50 million people 14.43 million people 7.93 million people South Africa
1960s 9.22 million people 18.89 million people 9.67 million people South Africa
1970s 13.34 million people 25.38 million people 12.05 million people South Africa
1980s 18.94 million people 34.50 million people 15.56 million people South Africa
1990s 26.26 million people 44.05 million people 17.79 million people South Africa
2000s 35.36 million people 49.31 million people 13.95 million people South Africa
2010s 46.51 million people 55.92 million people 9.41 million people South Africa
2020s 53.76 million people 61.91 million people 8.16 million people South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher the global population hockey stick, Kenya or South Africa?
South Africa, at 63.21 million people against 55.34 million people in Kenya as of 2023.
What is the difference in the global population hockey stick between Kenya and South Africa?
7.87 million people, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Kenya and South Africa?
241 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.
How do Kenya and South Africa rank globally for the global population hockey stick?
Kenya ranks 27th and South Africa ranks 25th of 239 countries.
Where does this data come from?
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – 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.

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Kenya vs South Africa: The global population hockey stick. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/world-population-over-the-last-12000-years-and-un-projection-until-2100/kenya/south-africa/

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<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/compare/world-population-over-the-last-12000-years-and-un-projection-until-2100/kenya/south-africa/">Kenya vs South Africa: The global population hockey stick</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
The global population hockey stick
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.