South Africa\u2019s population is estimated to be 55.91 million of which 51% are female, according to Statistics South Africa\u2019s mid-year calculations.<\/p>\n
Announcing the figures at a media conference in Pretoria on Thursday, statistician general Pali Lehohla said migration is an important demographic process in shaping the age structure and distribution of the provincial population.<\/p>\n
The largest share of South Africa\u2019s population (24%) lives in Gauteng accounting for 13.5 million people. KwaZulu-Natal is the province with the second largest population, with 11.1 million people (19.9%).<\/p>\n
With a population of approximately 1.19 million people (2.1%), Northern Cape remains the province with the smallest share of the South African population.<\/p>\n
The figures also showed that about 30.1% of the population is aged younger than 15 years and approximately 8% (4.47 million) is 60 years or older.<\/p>\n
Of those younger than 15 years, approximately 23% (3.86 million) live in KwaZulu-Natal and 20.4% (3.43 million) live in Gauteng. The highest percentage of people (26.1% or 1.17 million) aged 60 years and older live in Gauteng.<\/p>\n
Like elsewhere in the world, the proportion of elderly persons aged 60 and older is increasing over time.<\/p>\n
Migration \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For the period 2011\u20132016, it is estimated that approximately 247 437 people will migrate from the Eastern Cape. Limpopo is estimated to experience an out-migration of nearly 305 030 people. During the same period, Gauteng and the Western Cape are estimated to experience an inflow of migrants of approximately 1 216 258 and 363 114 respectively.<\/p>\n Life expectancy<\/strong><\/p>\n Life expectancy at birth for 2016 is estimated at 59.7 years for males and 65.1 years for females.<\/p>\n The life expectancy for males dropped marginally from 60.6 years compared to 2015, but increased somewhat for females from 64.3 years.<\/p>\n The infant mortality rate for 2016 is estimated at 33.7 per 1 000 live births, slightly lower than the 34.4 per 1 000 births in 2015.<\/p>\n The estimated overall HIV prevalence rate is approximately 12.7% of the total South African population \u2013 up from 11.2% in 2015.<\/p>\n The total number of people living with HIV also increased from 6.19 million in 2015 to 7.03 million in 2016. For adults aged 15\u201349 years, an estimated 18.9% (up from 16.6% in 2015) of the population is HIV positive.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n What South Africa would look like if mapped by population size<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n What South Africa\u2019s population will look like in 2050<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on South Africa<\/h3>\n