Natural population growth in South Africa
South Africa: Natural population growth was 0.9536 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
0.9536
Change on year
down 1.5%
Rank
102nd
of 236 groups
All-time high
2.73
in 1969
All-time low
0.7421
in 2021
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Natural population growth in South Africa, 1950–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, natural population growth in South Africa stood at 0.9536.
That represents a change of down 1.5% on the previous year and down 20.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, natural population growth in South Africa peaked at 2.73 in 1969 and was at its lowest, 0.7421, in 2021.
That places South Africa 102nd out of 236 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.29 | 1.94 | 2.53 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.66 | 2.56 | 2.73 | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.61 | 2.49 | 2.72 | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.48 | 2.23 | 2.56 | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.67 | 1.27 | 2.05 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9939 | 0.8557 | 1.16 | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.14 | 1.08 | 1.21 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9118 | 0.7421 | 0.9839 | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More population data for South Africa
- Population growth rate by level of development 0.23 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 5.55 million (2100)
- Population density 77.75 (2100)
- Population growth rate 0.23 (2100)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 2.21 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 71,171 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 2.21 (2024)
- Fertility vs contraception 2.21 (2024)
- Fertility rate with projections 2.22 (2023)
- Children per woman fertility rate vs level of prosperity 2.22 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is natural population growth in South Africa?
- Natural population growth in South Africa was 0.9536 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest natural population growth recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 2.73 in 1969.
- What is the lowest natural population growth recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7421 in 2021.
- How does South Africa rank for natural population growth?
- South Africa ranks 102nd out of 236 groups with data for 2023.
- Is natural population growth rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Natural population growth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).