Cape Town – Gauteng and the Western Cape are expected to see the largest inflow of migrants for the years between 2016 and 2021, Statistics SA said in its latest mid-year population data released on Monday.
Gauteng is expected to see 1 595 106 people moving to the province, while the Western Cape is forecast to see an inflow of 485 560 over the five-year period.
Although Gauteng experiences the largest inflow of migrants, there are also a significant number of people leaving the province. The Eastern Cape and Gauteng are the two provinces with the largest outflow of people.
According to Statistics SA, the country’s total population currently stands at 56.52 million people of which 51% are female.
Black South Africans are in the majority and constitute close to 81% of the population at 45.7 million people. The coloured population is estimated at 5 million people, the white population at 4.5 million and Indian and Asian people at 1.4 million.
Gauteng is home to the largest share of South Africa’s population at 25.3%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (19.6%) and The Western Cape and the Eastern Cape – both at 11.5%.
The Northern Cape houses the smallest percentage of South Africa’s population at 2.1%.
Like many other countries, older people as a percentage of the population are on the increase in South Africa.
According to the latest figures, the proportion of the elderly, has shown at an increased growth rate – from 1.34% for the period between 2002 and 2003, to 3% for the period between 2016 and 2017.
READ: Ageing population could affect SA's credit rating - S&P
Approximately 29.6% of South Africa’s population is between the ages zero to 14 and 8.1% is 60 years and older.
The mid-year population figures show that between the period 2007 and 2017, the fertility rate in South Africa has declined from an average of 2.73 children per woman to 2.41 children.
Life expectancy at birth for 2017 is estimated at 61.2 years for males and 66.7% for females, while the infant mortality rate for 2017 is estimated at 32.8 per 1 000 live births.
Between the years 2002 and 2006, life expectancy at birth declined, but access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV positive people has led to an increased life expectancy since 2007.
The infant mortality rate has also declined – from an estimated 48.1 infant deaths per 1 000 live births in 2002 to the current 32.8 infant deaths per 1 000 live births.
The estimated overall prevalence of HIV in South Africa is approximately 12.6%, comprising 7.06m people. Approximately 18% of the population between the ages 15 to 49 are HIV-positive.
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