What is the population of South Africa?
South Africa has 64.7 million people (2025). Since 1960, the population has grown from 16.4 million to 64.7 million, 3.9 times the 1960 figure.
Population by decade
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 16,440,172 |
| 1970 | 22,279,984 |
| 1980 | 29,518,857 |
| 1990 | 40,746,268 |
| 2000 | 47,159,719 |
| 2010 | 52,344,051 |
| 2020 | 60,562,381 |
| 2025 | 64,747,319 |
What is the capital of South Africa?
The capital of South Africa is Pretoria.
What currency does South Africa use?
South Africa uses the South African rand (ZAR).
What languages are spoken in South Africa?
The official languages of South Africa are English, Afrikaans, South Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Swati, Southern Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu.
Where is South Africa?
South Africa is in Africa.
Location on the map
Neighboring countries
Countries that border this country:
How big is South Africa?
South Africa covers 1,219,602 km² (470,891 sq mi). The United States is about 8.1 times as large.
Economy of South Africa
- Gross domestic product (GDP)
- $427 billion
- GDP per person
- $6,598
- Life expectancy
- 66.3 years
Data: World Bank (GDP 2025, GDP per person 2025, life expectancy 2024)
Economic development
Based on economic indicators, South Africa is classified as upper middle income. Upper-middle-income countries have a gross national income per person between $4,516 and $14,005.
Related countries
Where does South Africa rank?
South Africa is in the top 50 on two of our six rankings: