Demographic profile
South Africa is the 24th most populous of the 237 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.79% of everyone alive. Within Southern Africa, it ranks 1 of 5.
Each day brings roughly 3,379 births and 1,680 deaths, adding about 620,547 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 0.95% annually, the population would double in roughly 74 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Limpopo, holding an estimated 30.8% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 9 states and regions is in the table below. Regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 95.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 20.3%, with life expectancy at about 51.1 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of South Africa in 2026? Approximately 65,309,248 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is South Africa growing? About 0.95% per year — roughly 3,379 births and 1,680 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in South Africa? Around 0.79% — ranked 24 worldwide by population.