Lecture2.2012

SA’s population: An overview

• Estimated pop in mid 2010 as 49.99 million

• Races : 79.3% black, 9.1% white, 9.0 % Coloured, 2.6% Indian

• Sex: imbalance, with 52% female

Overview

• ISSUES: – Immigrants (illegal vs

legal)

- Age: White population is an AGING one....

• Fertility rates are declining....

• More women than men – why?

Age and life expectancy

• Some segments of SA’s population are aging: White and (slowly) Indian population groups.

• BUT: Overall the average life expectancy is declining: men= 53.3 to 49 and women = 55.2 to 50.

• HIV: 11% of the population is infected. Esp high levels in the 15 to 35 age group.

• Crime and the murder rate• More people are murdered

than killed in car accidents...

Youth and dependency

• SA has a youthful population.

– 31.4% under the age of 15.

– 7.5% over 60

– Roughly 20 million are dependents (not able to work). This is a LARGE dependency ratio.

High infant mortality rate (45.7 per 1000)

Population distribution

• Natural Resources: mining (gold, coal, platinum, diamonds)

• Historical factors: Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria.

• Water: Dry western half of SA, wetter eastern half.

• Economics: Gauteng, W. Cape and KZN

Movement within SA

• Great deal of internal migration: – Exit the Eastern Cape,

Limpopo– Move to Gauteng, KZN and

Western Cape– Reasons:

• Job opportunities• Poor service delivery• Medical care• Educational institutions,

esp tertiary.

The welfare state

• Relative to population size, SA is the LARGEST welfare state in the world.

• 13 million receive welfare payments: – Child grants, pensions,

disability grants. BUT: we have only 5.2 million

tax payers. 31% of our population is on

welfare, 10.6% pay tax. And we are planning to add

more – child grants to 18, old age pensions for men aged 60.

Language:

• 24% claim IsiZulu as home language.

• 18% IsiXhosa• BUT: English is

becoming a dominant language in South Africa: – Business and trade– Culture – Politics – Science