One in every 120 babies born in the world today is born in South Africa. South Africa has about 1,100,000 births a year, around 0.8% of all births worldwide.

Births per year
1,100,000
Share of world births
0.8%
Birth odds
1/120
Life expectancy
62 years
Risk of dying before age 5
3.2%
Income per person, PPP
US$15,000
Children per woman
2.3
Urban population
68%

Life expectancy in South Africa is 62 years, which is 11 years shorter than the world average.

Of every 1,000 babies born here, about 32 do not reach their fifth birthday. The world average is 37 per 1,000.

Income per person is about US$15,000 in purchasing power. That is only 66% of the world average.

On average a woman has 2.3 children in her lifetime. The world average is 2.3.

About 68% of the population lives in cities. A baby born here has roughly a 32% chance of being born in the countryside.

Religious makeup

  • Christianity85%
  • No religion10%
  • Islam2%
  • Other beliefs3%

Sample names given to people born in this country in the game

Thabo · Sipho · Lwazi · Johan · Naledi · Zanele · Lerato · Anika

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Countries with a similar number of births

Birth odds for every country →

Values are rounded approximations. Sources: UN World Population Prospects 2024, World Bank WDI, Pew Research Center 2020.