SA population estimated at 47m

2005-05-31 13:00

Johannesburg - South Africa's mid-2005 population is estimated at approximately 46.9 million, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday.

Stats SA said Africans are in the majority - approximately 37.2 million - and constitute about 79% of the total South African population. The white population is estimated at 4.4 million, the coloured population 4.1 million and the Indian/Asian population 1.1 million.

"It will be observed that the population estimates for 2005 are lower than previously published. This is primarily a result of additional information about mortality now available to Statistics South Africa," Stats SA said.

The data reveals that 51% (about 23.8 million) of the population is female.

The provincial estimates show that KwaZulu-Natal has the largest share of the population (20.6%), followed by Gauteng (19.2%) and Eastern Cape (15.0%).

Northern Cape has the smallest share of the population (1.9%).

4.5 million Aids-positive

Stats SA added that there has been much concern about the effect of HIV on the future size of the South African population. The overall estimated HIV-prevalence rate is approximately 10%. The HIV-positive population is estimated at approximately 4.5 million.

"The overall impact of HIV on the level of fertility is unlikely to be large in comparison with other factors influencing fertility in South Africa," it said.

Internal migration patterns show a shift to three main areas. KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng have positive net migration, with the largest number of persons expected to migrate into Gauteng (about 520 000) for the period 2001-2006.

Eastern Cape and Limpopo are expected to have the largest negative net migration, with Eastern Cape expected to experience negative net migration of approximately 320 000 for the period 2001-2006.

Stats SA said the release uses cohort-component methodology to estimate the 2005 mid-year population of the country.

- I-Net Bridge (News24)