People in South Africa right nowestimate
65,657,637
Growing by about 1,890 people a day
A birth every 27 secA death every 52 sec
- Born today
- 2,322
- Died today
- 1,212
- Growth this year
- +549,487
- Since you opened this page
- 0
Born and died count from midnight in your time zone, growth from 1 January. All three are estimates.
How the count works
The UN gives the population of South Africa on 1 January of each year, plus the births, deaths and migration it expects during the year. This page moves in a straight line from one 1 January to the next, so the number changes at the same pace all year. Born today and died today spread the year's births and deaths evenly over the seconds since midnight in your time zone.
It is an estimate, not a head count. Countries count their people in censuses and registers, and the UN builds these figures from those sources and from surveys.
Source: UN DESA, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant), licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Livecounts.nl turns the yearly figures into a per-second estimate; the UN has not reviewed this page.
Questions
What is the population of South Africa right now?
About 65,657,637 people at 17:24 UTC, by the UN's World Population Prospects 2024 model. The counter at the top keeps moving by about 1,890 people a day.
Is the population of South Africa growing?
Yes. For 2026 the UN expects about 1,167,800 births, 609,600 deaths and net migration of +131,700, so the population grows by about 689,900 people (+1.1%).
How many babies are born in South Africa each day?
About 3,200 a day on average in 2026, while about 1,670 people die each day, by the UN's estimates.