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People of South Africa

Population:43997828
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 29.1% (male 6,447,623/female 6,370,909)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 14,040,210/female 14,761,179)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 917,227/female 1,460,680) (2007 est.)
Median age:total: 24.3 years
male: 23.5 years
female: 25.1 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:-0.46% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:17.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:22.45 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.628 male(s)/female
total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 59.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 62.95 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 55.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 42.45 years
male: 43.21 years
female: 41.66 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:2.16 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:21.5% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:5.3 million (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:370,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:noun: South African(s)
adjective: South African
Ethnic groups:black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5% (2001 census)
Religions:Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)
Languages:IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4%
male: 87%
female: 85.7% (2003 est.)

South Africa Quickstats

  • Population: 43,997,828
  • Area: 1,219,912 sq km
  • Density: 39 /km² (163rd)
  • GDP (total): $570.2 billion (18th)
  • GDP (per capita): $12,161 (57th)
  • Literacy: 86.4%

Languages of South Africa

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  • Currency: South African rand (ZAR)
  • Dial code: +27

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