South Africa Population Pyramid 1959
Year
1959South Africa in 1959
In 1959, South Africa had a total population of 16,014,974 people. The median age was 19.1 years, and for every 100 people of working age (15–64) there were 77.1 children under 15 and 6.3 people aged 65 or over.
The broad-based, expansive shape of the pyramid points to high fertility and strong population growth.
Data source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant) — last updated July 2024.
In 2023 women in South Africa had on average 2.22 children, above the replacement level of 2.1.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
Life expectancy at birth was 66.1 years in 2023: 69.6 for women and 62.6 for men.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, latest available year.
2,572,289 immigrants live in South Africa, 4.0% of the population.
| Zimbabwe | 1,072,620 |
| Mozambique | 412,058 |
| Lesotho | 237,718 |
| Malawi | 220,437 |
| Ethiopia | 104,402 |
1,004,485 people born in South Africa live in other countries.
| United Kingdom | 245,446 |
| Australia | 213,447 |
| United States of America | 161,507 |
| New Zealand | 101,970 |
| Canada | 52,600 |
Source: United Nations International Migrant Stock 2024.
| Country | Population | Median age | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 16,014,974 | 19.1 | |
| Lesotho | 714,947 | 17.5 | |
| Namibia | 580,920 | 19.0 | |
| Botswana | 504,878 | 18.0 | |
| Swaziland | 337,509 | 16.7 |





