Population Growth is expected to continue in South Africa, although at a slower rate than in the past century, with the growth rate going below 1% annually by 2026. However, in 2008 it was revealed that over 200,000 refugees applied for asylum in South Africa, more than four times the number declared the year before.Įlsewhere, South Africa is also concerned about a skills drain which has seen many professionals, particularly those in the medical sphere, leave the country and seek a career elsewhere. The South African Migration Project has claimed that the country is more opposed to immigrants than anywhere else in the world. So what are the reasons for this increase? The question of immigration raises a contrasting set of views. That represents a rise of nearly six million people over the course of the previous ten years. The 2011 Census was carried out in October of 2011 and showed that the population had climbed to over 50.5 million people. While the birth and fertility rates are both high, they have each decreased annually, indicating the slowing of South Africa’s population growth.

Additionally, the fertility rate is 2.372 births per woman, well above the population replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. The birth rate is more than double the death rate in South Africa. South Africa’s birth rate is 19.995 births per 1,000 people and its death rate is 9.3 deaths per 1,000 people.

South Africa’s population growth rate is currently 1.28% per year. Based on current projections, South Africa’s population will continue to grow until 2082, reaching just over 80 million people before plateauing and slightly declining the rest of the century.

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