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COUNTRY PROFILE / ZAF

South Africa

South Africa / ZA

01 / BASIC INFORMATION

South Africa in numbers.

Area1,219,090 kmยฒWorld # 24 โ†’Population64.7MWorld # 24 โ†’Population density53.1 people/kmยฒWorld # 146 โ†’Life expectancy66.3 yearsWorld # 181 โ†’GDP per capitaUS$ 6,598World # 124 โ†’

02 / ALL RANKINGS

South Africa across 51 rankings.

Essentials

Area1,219,090 kmยฒWorld # 24 / 2023 โ†’Population64.7MWorld # 24 / 2025 โ†’Population density53.1 people/kmยฒWorld # 146 / Population 2025 ยท area 2023 โ†’Independence / founding reference year1,910World # 136 / CIA World Factbook 2025 archive โ†’

People & society

Population growth1.1%World # 93 / 2025 โ†’Total fertility rate2.2World # 94 / 2024 โ†’Birth rate18.5 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 83 / 2024 โ†’Death rate9.2 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 56 / 2024 โ†’Median age28.2 yearsWorld # 143 / 2023 โ†’Population aged 65+6.9%World # 124 / 2025 โ†’Population aged 0โ€“1425.7%World # 91 / 2025 โ†’Urban population63.8%World # 111 / 2025 โ†’Net migration146.4KWorld # 9 / 2025 โ†’Net migration rate2.3 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 45 / 2025 โ†’International migrant share4.1%World # 122 / 2024 โ†’

Health

Life expectancy66.3 yearsWorld # 181 / 2024 โ†’Healthy life expectancy52.8 yearsWorld # 174 / 2021 โ†’Physicians per 1,000 people0.8 per 1,000 peopleWorld # 123 / 2022 โ†’Smoking rate23.7%World # 55 / 2024 โ†’

Economy & work

GDP per capitaUS$ 6,598World # 124 / 2025 โ†’Nominal GDPUS$ 427.2BWorld # 40 / 2025 โ†’GDP per capita (PPP)US$ 15,906World # 120 / 2025 โ†’Real GDP growth1.1%World # 168 / 2025 โ†’Inflation3.2%World # 93 / 2025 โ†’Unemployment32.4%World # 2 / 2025 โ†’Youth unemployment59.9%World # 2 / 2025 โ†’Average annual working hours2,181 hours/yearWorld # 30 / 2023 โ†’Average sleep timeNo dataNo rank โ†’Income inequality (Gini index)54.1World # 5 / 2022 โ†’

Education & science

Education spending (% of GDP)6%World # 26 / 2024 โ†’Researchers per million people444.2 per million peopleWorld # 84 / 2022 โ†’R&D spending (% of GDP)0.6%World # 61 / 2022 โ†’Patent applications per million people27.9 per million peopleWorld # 49 / 2021 โ†’

Food & agriculture

Calorie supply per person2,694 kcal/dayWorld # 134 / 2023 โ†’Meat supply per person58.3 kg/person/yearWorld # 93 / 2023 โ†’Rice production3.1K tWorld # 105 / 2024 โ†’Wheat production1.9M tWorld # 40 / 2024 โ†’Coffee productionNo dataNo rank โ†’Coffee consumption per personNo dataNo rank โ†’

Environment & digital

Forest area14%World # 147 / 2023 โ†’Electricity use per person3,247 kWh/personWorld # 65 / 2023 โ†’COโ‚‚ emissions per person6.9 tWorld # 42 / 2024 โ†’Internet use78.4%World # 112 / 2024 โ†’Mobile subscriptions179.3 per 100 peopleWorld # 11 / 2024 โ†’

Safety & politics

Homicide rate43.7 per 100,000 peopleWorld # 7 / 2022 โ†’Road traffic death rate22.2 per 100,000 peopleWorld # 59 / 2019 โ†’Military spending (% of GDP)0.7%World # 139 / 2024 โ†’Women in parliament44.9%World # 16 / 2025 โ†’

Travel & culture

International tourist arrivals3.9MWorld # 45 / 2020 โ†’International tourism receiptsUS$ 2.7BWorld # 45 / 2020 โ†’World Heritage sites12 sitesWorld # 27 / 2026-07 โ†’

03 / CULTURE & INDUSTRY

Society, culture and industry.

Largest religious groupChristianity2015 / 86%Main languageEnglishMain functional languageLeading electricity sourceCoal2025Top export categoryGems, precious metals and glass2023Most mapped OSM sportRacket sports11,163 facilities countedWriting directionLeft to rightEnglishLargest staple-food calorie sourceMaize2023Current currencyRandZARDriving sideLeft-hand trafficSide of the road used by trafficCountry-name originNo dataNo comparison data for this country