Number of children under 5 in South Africa
South Africa: Number of children under 5 was 5.89 million people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5.89 million people
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
24th
of 236 countries
All-time high
5.89 million people
in 2023
All-time low
2.15 million people
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Number of children under 5 in South Africa, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of children under 5 in South Africa is 5.89 million people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of children under 5 in South Africa peaked at 5.89 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.15 million people, in 1950.
South Africa ranks 24th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Number of children under 5 in South Africa, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2.15 million people | — |
| 1951 | 2.19 million people | +1.8% |
| 1952 | 2.23 million people | +1.9% |
| 1953 | 2.27 million people | +1.8% |
| 1954 | 2.32 million people | +2.2% |
| 1955 | 2.38 million people | +2.8% |
| 1956 | 2.45 million people | +2.8% |
| 1957 | 2.52 million people | +2.8% |
| 1958 | 2.59 million people | +2.7% |
| 1959 | 2.65 million people | +2.7% |
| 1960 | 2.72 million people | +2.6% |
| 1961 | 2.80 million people | +2.7% |
| 1962 | 2.88 million people | +2.8% |
| 1963 | 2.96 million people | +2.9% |
| 1964 | 3.05 million people | +3.0% |
| 1965 | 3.14 million people | +3.1% |
| 1966 | 3.25 million people | +3.3% |
| 1967 | 3.36 million people | +3.4% |
| 1968 | 3.47 million people | +3.4% |
| 1969 | 3.59 million people | +3.3% |
| 1970 | 3.70 million people | +3.2% |
| 1971 | 3.81 million people | +2.9% |
| 1972 | 3.91 million people | +2.6% |
| 1973 | 4.01 million people | +2.4% |
| 1974 | 4.09 million people | +2.2% |
| 1975 | 4.17 million people | +1.9% |
| 1976 | 4.24 million people | +1.7% |
| 1977 | 4.30 million people | +1.4% |
| 1978 | 4.35 million people | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 4.41 million people | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 4.51 million people | +2.1% |
| 1981 | 4.65 million people | +3.1% |
| 1982 | 4.82 million people | +3.7% |
| 1983 | 5.01 million people | +3.9% |
| 1984 | 5.18 million people | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 5.34 million people | +3.0% |
| 1986 | 5.49 million people | +3.0% |
| 1987 | 5.64 million people | +2.7% |
| 1988 | 5.75 million people | +2.0% |
| 1989 | 5.81 million people | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 5.80 million people | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 5.73 million people | -1.2% |
| 1992 | 5.66 million people | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 5.55 million people | -1.8% |
| 1994 | 5.48 million people | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 5.48 million people | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 5.48 million people | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 5.44 million people | -0.8% |
| 1998 | 5.33 million people | -1.9% |
| 1999 | 5.24 million people | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 5.13 million people | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 5.00 million people | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 4.89 million people | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 4.83 million people | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 4.83 million people | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 4.89 million people | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 5.01 million people | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 5.16 million people | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 5.35 million people | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 5.50 million people | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 5.58 million people | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 5.63 million people | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 5.67 million people | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 5.65 million people | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 5.65 million people | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5.71 million people | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 5.73 million people | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 5.66 million people | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 5.58 million people | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 5.54 million people | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 5.57 million people | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 5.70 million people | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 5.83 million people | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 5.89 million people | +1.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 5.89 million people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 447,677 people, 13.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 5.89 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.19 million people, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.37 million people | 2.15 million people | 2.65 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.12 million people | 2.72 million people | 3.59 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.10 million people | 3.70 million people | 4.41 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.22 million people | 4.51 million people | 5.81 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.52 million people | 5.24 million people | 5.80 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.06 million people | 4.83 million people | 5.50 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.64 million people | 5.54 million people | 5.73 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.75 million people | 5.57 million people | 5.89 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More reference data data for South Africa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7468 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 63.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.07 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of children under 5 in South Africa?
- Number of children under 5 in South Africa was 5.89 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of children under 5 recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 5.89 million people in 2023.
- What is the lowest number of children under 5 recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.15 million people in 1950.
- How does South Africa rank for number of children under 5?
- South Africa ranks 24th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of children under 5 rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of children under 5. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.