% REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA COMBINED SECOND PERIODIC REPORT UNDER THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLE`S RIGHTS and INITIAL REPORT UNDER THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA 60 55 50 45 40 1996 2001 2007 2011 Male 48.1 47.8 48.3 48.7 Female 51.9 52.2 51.7 51.4 13. The South African female population is not a homogenous group. This report therefore seeks to capture, in so far as it is possible, the vast differences between the different members of this population, in terms of their race, language, religion, circumstances, aspirations, geographic location, historic location, historic disadvantages, levels of education, self-esteem, cultural beliefs, values, and access to and control of opportunities and resources. 14. The 2011 Census shows that more people in South Africa are living in urban areas than in rural areas. As shown in Table 2 below, of the total population in the country, more women can be found in urban areas (62.5%) as compared to 37.5% in rural areas. However, men outnumber women in urban areas while there are more women than men in rural areas. This can be attributed to migratory labour patterns in the country. Table 2: Geographic distribution of males and females, 2011 100% 50% 0% Urban Rural Male 64.4% 35.6% Female 62.5% 37.5% 15. According to Census 2011, 41.2% of households were headed by females in the country. The percentage of female heads of households increased with age, peaking at 60.2% for heads aged 70 years and older. In the 18-34 year age group, there were 34.4% households headed by women, while in the 35-59 year age group there were 40.2% women headed households. In the 60-69 year age group, 47.7% households were headed by women, increasing to 60.2% at the 70+ year age group. 16. Female-headed households generally contain more dependents and have a larger average household size than male-headed households in South Africa. Approximately 10% of femaleheaded households are “skip-generation” households (where grandparents, especially grandmothers, care for orphaned or grandchildren from absent parents), compared to 3.2% of male-headed households.278 278 Ibid 144