The people of SA by numbers

What’s the least appealing province in South Africa … at least to live in?

According to the latest population statistics from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), it appears to be the Eastern Cape.

In the 15 years from 2006 to 2021, it is estimated that the Eastern Cape will record a net loss of migrants (those who leave the province compared to those who move there) of almost one million people. This is, by far, the biggest net loss of migrants within the nine provinces of the country.

On the other hand, Gauteng and the Western Cape seem to be magnets for migrants, both from within and outside this country. In the same 15-year period, Gauteng will record a net gain of just over 2.9 million migrants. The Western Cape’s net gain will be just under 880 000.

Stats SA mid-year population estimates indicate that about 2 604 835 foreign migrants will have come into the country during the 2006-2021 period.

Gauteng is the most popular province with foreigners, with an estimated 1 237 897 of them having put down roots in the province by 2021. The Western Cape is the next most popular destination for people from outside our borders, and just more than 302 000 of them will call the province their new home by 2021.

For 2018, Stats SA estimated the mid-year population at 57.73 million. About 51% (about 29.5 million) of the population is female.

Gauteng is the most populous province with just more than 14.7 million people, or 25.4% of the country’s total, living there.

KwaZulu-Natal is the province with the second largest population, with 11.4 million people (19.7% of the total), while the Northern Cape has just 1.23 million people or 2.1% of the total.

The figures show that there are 46.7 million Black Africans, or 80.9% of the total. Coloured people account for 8.8% of the population, at total of 5.1 million, while the 4.5 million whites represent 7.8% of the people in the county. The Indian/Asian group is 2.5 %, or 1.5 million people.

StatsSA said: “About 29.5% of the population is aged younger than 15 years and approximately 8.5% (4.89 million) is 60 years or older. Similar proportions of those younger than 15 years live in Gauteng (21.1%) and KwaZulu-Natal (21.0%).”

It added: “Of the elderly aged 60 years and older, the highest percentage 24.0% (1.18 million) reside in Gauteng. The proportion of elderly persons aged 60 and older is increasing over time.”

The statistics show also that life expectancy at birth for 2018 is estimated at 61.1 years for males and 67.3 years for females.

The infant mortality rate for 2018 is estimated at 36.4 per 1 000 live births.

The estimated overall HIV prevalence rate is about 13.1% among the South African population.

The total number of people living with HIV is estimated at about 7.52 million in 2018. For adults aged 15-49 years, an estimated 19% of the population is HIV positive.

– news@citizen.co.za

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