Home / Population growth / South Africa
South Africa — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for South Africa, 1961–2025.
Latest value · 2025
1.15%
Population Growth (Annual %) · annual % · -59.0% since 1961
Population growth for South Africa was 1.15% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 3.49% in 1983. The lowest was 0.65% in 2017 (about 1.8× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.38% per year.
South Africa ranks 93 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 43%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 2.30%, so South Africa sits below it. It peaked in 1983 and has fallen 67% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 43%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
1.15%
First (1961)
2.81%
Change
-59.0%
Highest
3.49%
in 1983
Lowest
0.65%
in 2017
Average
2.11%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-1.38%
Years of data
65
Recent years
| Year | annual % |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1.15% |
| 2024 | 1.25% |
| 2023 | 1.33% |
| 2022 | 1.41% |
| 2021 | 1.54% |
| 2020 | 1.62% |
| 2019 | 1.65% |
| 2018 | 1.68% |
| 2017 | 0.65% |
| 2016 | 0.94% |
| 2015 | 2.01% |
| 2014 | 1.66% |
Reading this correctly. Annual population growth rate. A negative value means the population shrank, usually through emigration or low birth rates. Figures are in annual %. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.