# 2022 South African census

The South African National Census of 2022 is the 4th comprehensive census performed by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The census results were released on 10 October 2023 and recorded a total of 62 million people in the country.

## Key findings

The first reports of statistics, published on 10 October 2023, showed a total population of 62,027,503.
* Area: 1,220,813 square kilometres (471,359 sq mi)
* Population: 62,027,503
* Households: 17,828,778

### Demographics

81,4% of the population is black African. The median age of the total population is 28 years.
Population change in South Africa by group :
| Rank | Group | 2011 Census | 2022 Census | Change | Percent change |
| 1 | Black African | 41,000,938 | 50,486,856 | 9,485,918 | 20.74% |
| 2 | Coloured | 4,615,401 | 5,052,349 | 436,948 | 9.04% |
| 3 | White | 4,586,838 | 4,504,252 | −82,586 | -1.82% |
| 4 | Asian or Indian | 1,286,930 | 1,697,506 | 410,576 | 27.51% |
| 5 | Other | 280,454 | 247,353 | −33,101 | -12.54% |
| Total population | Total population | 51,770,560 | 61,988,314 | 10,217,755 | 19,8% |
Percentage distribution of South Africans by language spoken most often at home by province :
| First language | WC | EC | NC | FS | KZN | NW | GP | MP | LP | Population | SA |
| Afrikaans | 41.2 | 9.6 | 54.6 | 10.3 | 1 | 5.2 | 7.7 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 6,583,111 | 10.6% |
| English | 22 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 14.4 | 1 | 9.2 | 1.5 | 1 | 5,388,221 | 8.7% |
| IsiNdebele | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 9.9 | 1.1 | 1,053,711 | 1.7% |
| IsiXhosa | 31.4 | 81.8 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 6.7 | 1 | 0.2 | 10,073,111 | 16.3% |
| IsiZulu | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.7 | 80 | 1.6 | 23.1 | 27.8 | 0.6 | 15,124,191 | 24.4% |
| Sepedi | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 12.6 | 10.3 | 55.5 | 6,198,831 | 10% |
| Sesotho | 1 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 72.3 | 0.6 | 5.9 | 13.1 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 4,958,852 | 7.8% |
| Setswana | 0.1 | 0 | 35.7 | 5.3 | 0 | 72.8 | 10.4 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 5,113,111 | 8.3% |
| SA Sign Language | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 12,397 | 0.02% |
| SiSwati (Swazi) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 30.5 | 0.3 | 1,737,722 | 2.8% |
| Tshivenda | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 17.4 | 1,549,957 | 2.5% |
| Xitsonga | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0 | 3.1 | 7 | 10.6 | 17.3 | 2,913,111 | 4.7% |
| Khoi, Nama & San languages | 0 | 0.01 | 0.17 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 6,199 | 0.01% |
| Shona | 2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 743,739 | 1.2% |
| Chichewa, Nyanja | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0 | 185,965 | 0.3% |
| Portuguese | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 | 123,977 | 0.2% |
| Other | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 247,953 | 0.4% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Population change in South Africa by gender :
| Rank | Gender | 2011 Census | 2022 Census | Change | Percent change |
| 1 | Female | 26,581,769 | 31,948,746 | 5,366,977 | 18.33% |
| 2 | Male | 25,188,791 | 30,078,757 | 4,889,966 | 17.69% |
Population change in South Africa by province :
| Rank | Province | 2011 Census | 2022 Census | Change | Percent change |
| 1 | Gauteng | 12,272,263 | 15,099,422 | 2,827,159 | 10.33% |
| 2 | KwaZulu-Natal | 10,267,300 | 12,423,907 | 2,156,607 | 9.5% |
| 3 | Western Cape | 5,822,734 | 7,433,019 | 1,610,285 | 12.15% |
| 4 | Eastern Cape | 6,562,053 | 7,230,304 | 668,251 | 4.85% |
| 5 | Limpopo | 5,404,868 | 6,572,720 | 1,167,852 | 9.75% |
| 6 | Mpumalanga | 4,039,939 | 5,143,324 | 1,103,385 | 12.02% |
| 7 | North West | 3,509,953 | 3,804,548 | 294,595 | 4.03% |
| 8 | Free State | 2,745,590 | 2,964,412 | 218,822 | 3.83% |
| 9 | Northern Cape | 1,145,861 | 1,355,946 | 210,085 | 8.4% |
| Total population | Total population | 51,770,560 | 62,027,602 | 10,257,041 | 9.01% |

## Collection issues

The census taking period was extended in the Western Cape province to 14 May 2022 after it was announced that only 58% of the province's population had participated in it by late April that year; whilst around 80% of the country's whole population had been surveyed by the same date. The deadline was extended a second time in the Western Cape to 31 May as only 78% of the province's population had been counted by the end of the first extension period.
The issue of under-counting in the Western Cape Province was a serious issue of concern for the Western Cape Provincial government as it might result in fewer resources being allocated to the province by national government on a per-capita basis relative to the rest of the country.
Stats SA reported particular difficulty in getting an accurate census count of both White and Coloured residents which accounted for the low census participation rate in the Western Cape province. In the Western Cape census workers reported difficulty in contacting households with high walls - thereby preventing many surveys from being conducted - whilst other households refused to participate in the census. Other problems encountered by Stats SA in the province included not being able to hire enough census workers or being able to secure enough vehicles.
After the publication of the census results it was reported that the under-count rate was 31% with the under-count rate being the highest in the Western Cape. The high under-count rate was reported as an issue of concern as it raised questions about the accuracy of the number of white, Indian, foreign-born and homeless people recorded in the census. In August 2024 STATS SA announced that due to reporting anomalies it would not be releasing key data such as figures on mortality, fertility, employment and household income.
Despite these criticisms, most notably the under-counting problem, STATS SA rejected calls from academia and other researchers for a recount and instead stated that the results were credible.