The population of South Africa stood at 62 million in 2022, up from 51.7 million in 2011, the latest official population census showed on Tuesday.
The figure indicated that the South African population had grown by 19.8% between 2011 and 2022, the largest percentage change in population size since 1996, according to the census released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
Males accounted for 48.5% of the country’s population while 51.5% were female, the census results showed.
The census also revealed that 81.4% of the South African population were black Africans, 8.1% were coloureds, 7.3% were white, and 2.7% were Asians.
In 2022, 88.5% of South African households resided in formal dwellings, 3.1% in traditional dwellings, and 8.1% in informal dwellings, according to the census, which also showed that the average household size was 3.5 persons per household.
This was the first digital census conducted in South Africa without the use of pen and paper since 1996, said Stats SA Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwean population in South Africa surged to over one million accounting to over 45% of the total foreign population.
