South Africa
Country in Africa
CountryScope
In brief
Population: 64.7M (2025). World rank 24 of 216; in Africa, 6 of 54. Area: 1,221,037 km². World rank 26 of 249; in Africa, 9 of 59. Life expectancy: 66.3 years (2024). World rank 182 of 216 (1 = best); in Africa, 24 of 54. From 2015 to 2025: population 56.7M → 64.7M, GDP $346.7B → $427.2B, and GDP per person $6,112 → $6,598.
State
- Official name
- Republic of South Africa
- Local name
- South Africa
- Capital
- Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town
- Region
- Africa
- Form of government
- Parliamentary republic
- UN member
- Yes
- Head of state
- Cyril Ramaphosa
- Head of government
- Cyril Ramaphosa
- Women in parliament
- 44.9% 2025
Key figures
- Population
- 64,747,319 2025
- Area
- 1,221,037 km²
- GDP
- $427.2B 2025
- GDP per person
- $6,598 2025
- Life expectancy
- 66.3 years 2024
Practical information
- Languages
- Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
- Currency
- South African Rand (ZAR)
- Time zones
- UTC+2
- Calling code
- +27
- Emergency numbers
- 112
- Driving side
- Left
- Plug types
- C, D, N
- Mains voltage
- 230 V
Territory
- Sea access
- Has a coastline
- Coastline, km
- 2,798
- Neighbours
- Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Zimbabwe
- Agricultural land
- 79.4% 2024
Elevation
- Highest point
- Mafadi, 3,450 m
- Lowest point
- Indian Ocean, 0 m
- Mean elevation, m
- 1,034
Climate
- Average temperature in the capital, °C
- 20
- Warmest month in the capital
- January, 24°C
- Coldest month in the capital
- July, 13°C
- Precipitation, mm per year
- 495 2022
Population and migration
- Population density
- 53 per km² 2025
- Population growth per year
- +1.2% 2025
- Living in cities
- 63.8% 2025
- Net migration per year
- +146.4K 2025
- Born in another country
- 4.1% 2024
Age and life expectancy
- Aged 0–14
- 25.7% 2025
- Aged 15–64
- 67.4% 2025
- Aged 65 and over
- 6.9% 2025
- Life expectancy, women
- 69.8 years 2024
- Life expectancy, men
- 62.8 years 2024
Births and deaths
- Children per woman
- 2.2 2024
- Births per 1,000 people
- 18.5 2024
- Deaths per 1,000 people
- 9.2 2024
Society
- Religions
- Christian 86%, folk religions 5.4%, no religion 5.2%, Muslim 1.9%, and other 1.5% (2015)
Quality of governance (100 = best)
- Rule of law, score 0–100
- 59.3 2025
- Control of corruption, score 0–100
- 45.4 2025
- Government effectiveness, score 0–100
- 51.9 2025
- Regulatory quality, score 0–100
- 54.3 2025
- Voice and accountability, score 0–100
- 70.2 2025
Size and growth
- GDP per person at purchasing power parity
- $15,906 2025
- GDP growth per year
- +1.1% 2025
Income and prices
- Income level (World Bank)
- Upper-middle income
- Gross national income per person
- $6,270 2025
- Inflation
- +3.2% 2025
- Price level, USA = 100
- 41 2025
Structure and jobs
- Agriculture, share of GDP
- 2.8% 2025
- Industry, share of GDP
- 24.1% 2025
- Services, share of GDP
- 63.1% 2025
- Unemployment
- 32.4% 2025
- Youth unemployment, ages 15–24
- 59.9% 2025
- Women in work or seeking work
- 49.9% 2025
Trade and finance
- Exports, share of GDP
- 31.4% 2025
- Imports, share of GDP
- 29.5% 2025
- Current account balance, share of GDP
- -0.4% 2025
- Foreign direct investment, share of GDP
- -0.5% 2025
- Remittances received, share of GDP
- 0.2% 2025
- Tax revenue, share of GDP
- 25.9% 2024
Poverty and inequality
- Gini index (0 = full equality)
- 54.1 2022
- Living on under $3 a day
- 17.4% 2022
Education
- Adult literacy
- 91.2% 2024
- Primary school enrolment
- 102% 2023
- Secondary school enrolment
- 104% 2023
- Higher education enrolment
- 23.5% 2023
- Public spending on education, share of GDP
- 6% 2024
Healthcare
- Health spending, share of GDP
- 8.9% 2023
- Health spending per person
- $537 2023
- Out-of-pocket health spending, share of total
- 6.7% 2023
- Doctors per 1,000 people
- 0.8 2022
- Nurses and midwives per 1,000 people
- 6.4 2022
- Hospital beds per 1,000 people
- 2.3 2010
- Children vaccinated against measles
- 76% 2024
Public health
- Infant deaths per 1,000 births
- 24.2 2024
- Deaths under age 5 per 1,000 births
- 35.1 2024
- Maternal deaths per 100,000 births
- 118 2023
- HIV prevalence, ages 15–49
- 17.2% 2024
- Diabetes prevalence, ages 20–79
- 7.2% 2024
- Overweight adults
- 55.1% 2022
- Adults who use tobacco
- 23.7% 2024
Living conditions
- Access to safe drinking water
- 90.2% 2024
- Access to basic sanitation
- 77.4% 2024
- Access to clean cooking fuels
- 90% 2024
Safety
- Homicides per 100,000 people
- 43.7 2022
- Road deaths per 100,000 people
- 22.2 2019
- Suicides per 100,000 people
- 22.3 2021
- Political stability and absence of violence, score 0–100
- 58.9 2025
- Natural hazards
- volcanoes and droughts
Air and emissions
- Air pollution PM2.5, µg/m³
- 27.7 2023
- CO₂ emissions, tonnes per person
- 6.9 2024
- All greenhouse gases, tonnes CO₂e per person
- 8.9 2024
Nature and water
- Forest cover
- 18.8% 2024
- Protected areas
- 12.9% 2025
- Renewable fresh water, m³ per person
- 718 2022
- Water stress, share of fresh water withdrawn
- 67.6% 2022
Internet and communications
- Using the internet
- 78.4% 2024
- Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
- 179 2024
- Home broadband per 100 people
- 5.4 2024
- Internet domain
- .za
Energy
- Access to electricity
- 90.2% 2024
- Electricity use, kWh per person
- 3,308 2024
- Renewable share of energy use
- 9.7% 2021
- Electricity from renewables
- 6.5% 2021
- Electricity from fossil fuels
- 86.2% 2024
Transport
- Air passengers per year
- 15,454,596 2023
- Airports
- 573 2025
- Railways, km
- 30,400 2021
Science and innovation
- Research spending, share of GDP
- 0.6% 2022
- Researchers per million people
- 444 2022
- Scientific articles per year
- 14,949 2023
- Patent applications by residents
- 350 2024
- High-tech share of manufactured exports
- 5.7% 2024