Population, female in South Africa
South Africa: Population, female was 33.24 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population, female in South Africa, 1960–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
Analysis
In 2025, population, female in South Africa stood at 33.24 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population, female in South Africa peaked at 33.24 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 8.00 million, in 1960.
South Africa ranks 24th 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.29 million | 8.00 million | 10.71 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 12.55 million | 11.06 million | 14.11 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.00 million | 14.54 million | 19.48 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.31 million | 20.01 million | 24.51 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.75 million | 24.74 million | 26.87 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.88 million | 27.16 million | 30.70 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.24 million | 31.18 million | 33.24 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More health data for South Africa
- Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 528,326 (2025)
- Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 540,082 (2025)
- Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 539,301 (2025)
- Age population, age 14, female, interpolated 535,290 (2025)
- Age population, age 13, male, interpolated 533,937 (2025)
- Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 530,309 (2025)
- Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 518,894 (2025)
- Age population, age 10, female, interpolated 512,828 (2025)
- Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 515,776 (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above, female 2.73 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population, female in South Africa?
- Population, female in South Africa was 33.24 million in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population, female recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 33.24 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest population, female recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.00 million in 1960.
- How does South Africa rank for population, female?
- South Africa ranks 24th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population, female rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population, female. 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
Female population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all female residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.