Despite the devastating impact of Covid-19, high unemployment, poverty and inequality, Statistics South Africa has published its mid-year population estimates for 2022, showing that the country’s population continues to grow, now estimated to be 60.6 million people.
Statician-general Risenga Maluleke released the 2022 mid-year-population estimates report in Pretoria on Thursday morning.
Gauteng was recorded as the province that is the most populated, followed by KwaZulu-Natal. The population grew by 640 074 (an annual rate of 1.06% growth) within a year. Within the 60.6 million people, 31 million are female.
Stats SA also gave a breakdown of the demographics, which also included the estimated shifts among the different racial groups.
Black people are estimated to have increased by 430,480 people over the period, while the coloured population grew by 44,951. The Asian and Indian population added 9,774 people over the last year period. However, there has been a decline in the population of white people by 23, 191 people between 2021 and 2022, Stats SA said.
According to Stats SA 16.1 million people are estimated to be living in Gauteng, while KwaZulu-Natal has about 11.5 million people. The Western Cape has the third highest population with an estimate of 7.2 million people.
Stats SA said: “As a nation grappled with the pandemic, it brought attention not only to the importance of healthcare and other social services required by people, but also the age profile of the population and the vulnerability of key populations in the country.
“THE Elderly who are more vulnerable to comorbidities, are more likely to experience the devastating effects of Covid-19. The vast number of deaths within this age group during the Covid-19 pandemic led to the drastic decline in the growth rate (1.74%) of the elderly population,” Stats SA said.
Source: News24, ENCA, Business Tech, image from Twitter