This is a question that gets asked a lot, and it’s not an easy one to answer. The Census gives us a good starting point, but there are many people who aren’t counted in the census. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how many people are actually in South Africa.
What are the key factors to South Africa’s population?
One of the first things to consider is that South Africa is a country with a lot of internal migration. People move between provinces for work, for family reasons, or simply to find a better life. This means that the census figures don’t necessarily reflect the true population of the country at any given time.
Another factor to consider is the undocumented population. There are people in the country who are not legally allowed to be here, and they’re not going to be counted in the census. This is difficult to estimate, but it’s estimated that there are about 1.5 million undocumented migrants in South Africa.
Then, of course, there are children who are born in South Africa but don’t have citizenship. This is estimated to be about 400,000 per year.
The actual number of people in South Africa
All of these factors mean that the true population of South Africa is probably somewhere between 52 and 53 million. So the next time someone asks you how many people are in South Africa, you can give them a ballpark figure. But it’s important to remember that it’s just an estimate.
