iv. KEY COUNTRY FACTS
Population
Census 2011 reflects that the total population of South Africa is 51,770,560. This figure
indicates that the population size of South Africa has increased noticeably from 40, 6 million
in 1996 to 51, 8 million in 2011.
The graph below reflects that overall, more than three quarters of the population is black
Africans. It was 77, 4% in 1996 and increased to 79% in 2001. In 2011 the population of
Black Africans had increased slightly to 79, 2% while the percentage share of the
Indian/Asian population remained constant. The percentage of the white population has
declined slightly from 10, 9% in 1996 to 9, 6% in 2001 and 8, 7% in 2011.
Population distribution by population group and sex
Source: Census 2011
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