Statistics South Africa’s (StatsSA) mid-year population is estimated at 59.6 million. The country’s apex stats agency said Gauteng continues to record the largest share of South Africa’s population, with approximately 15.5 million people (or 26% of the population) living in this province.
The coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal is the province with the second largest population, with an estimated 11.5 million people, followed by the Western Cape with 7 million and the Eastern Cape with 6.7 million.
Limpopo is estimated to have a population of 5.8 million, Mpumalanga 4.6 million, North West 4.1 million and Free State 2.9 million people.
Northern Cape maintained its status as the province with the lowest population in the country with a population estimated at 1.29 million people.
The StatsSA report further indicates that approximately 51.1% of the population is female and about 28.6% of the population is aged younger than 15 years and approximately 9.1% is 60 years or older.
The report further shows that for the period 2016 – 2021, Gauteng and Western Cape are estimated to experience the largest inflow of migrants.
The data also revealed that the total number of people living with HIV is estimated at approximately 7.8 million in 2020. For adults aged 15 – 49 years, an estimated 18.7% of the population is HIV positive
