Population ages 0-14, total in South Africa

South Africa: Population ages 0-14, total was 16.66 million in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
16.66 million
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
26th
of 215 countries
All-time high
17.01 million
in 1997
All-time low
6.92 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Population ages 0-14, total in South Africa, 1960–2025

05.0M10.0M15.0M196019922025

Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), note: Staff estimates using the World Bank's total population and age/sex distributions of the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects., publi.

Analysis

In 2025, population ages 0-14, total in South Africa stood at 16.66 million.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population ages 0-14, total in South Africa peaked at 17.01 million in 1997 and was at its lowest, 6.92 million, in 1960.

South Africa ranks 26th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 7.96 million 6.92 million 9.13 million 10
1970s 10.63 million 9.41 million 11.81 million 10
1980s 13.56 million 12.08 million 15.09 million 10
1990s 16.37 million 15.37 million 17.01 million 10
2000s 15.63 million 15.27 million 16.46 million 10
2010s 15.91 million 15.39 million 16.34 million 10
2020s 16.47 million 16.35 million 16.66 million 6

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 23 Angola 17.22 million compare
  2. 24 Yemen 17.14 million compare
  3. 25 Iraq 16.94 million compare
  4. 27 Mozambique 15.74 million compare
  5. 28 Algeria 14.20 million compare
  6. 29 Japan 13.86 million compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

More health data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is population ages 0-14, total in South Africa?
Population ages 0-14, total in South Africa was 16.66 million in 2025, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), note: Staff estimates using the World Bank's total population and age/sex distributions of the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects., publi.
What is the highest population ages 0-14, total recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 17.01 million in 1997.
What is the lowest population ages 0-14, total recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 6.92 million in 1960.
How does South Africa rank for population ages 0-14, total?
South Africa ranks 26th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
Is population ages 0-14, total rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), note: Staff estimates using the World Bank's total population and age/sex distributions of the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects., publi, published as part of Population ages 0-14, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population ages 0-14, total
Source
Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), note: Staff estimates using the World Bank's total population and age/sex distributions of the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects., publi
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
264 places, 17,394 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

Total population between the ages 0 to 14. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.