Table 1.

Percentage of Population in Older Age Groups: 1997 to 2025

Age group

Region/country Year 50+ 60+ 70+

Southern Africa 1997 12.0 6.2 2.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 14.1 7.5 3.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 15.5 9.1 4.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Botswana 1997 9.7 5.4 2.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 9.8 5.3 2.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 9.1 5.6 2.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Lesotho 1997 11.7 6.7 2.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 12.1 6.5 3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 14.1 7.7 3.3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

South Africa 1997 13.3 6.8 2.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 16.2 8.6 3.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 18.0 10.8 5.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Zimbabwe 1997 8.5 4.3 1.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 8.6 4.7 2.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 8.4 4.9 2.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Note: The Southern Africa region comprises Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, 

Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International Database.

International Brief

by Kevin Kinsella, International Programs Center, U.S. Bureau of the Census

Monica Ferreira, HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology, University of Cape Town

IB/97-2

Issued August 1997

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS

Concern about population in Africa

traditionally has focussed on relatively high rates of fertility and

mortality, expansion of basic health

programs, and, more recently, on

the devastation resulting from the

HIV/AIDS pandemic. Overlooked

in the face of these pressing issues

is the fact that most African populations are aging, albeit at slower

rates than in much of the developing world. While gerontology is still

in its infancy throughout Africa,

there is a growing recognition of

population aging—especially in

South Africa—and the social benefits and problems associated with

this process. To date, awareness

has been stimulated largely by

community-based ethnographic

studies. The major impediment to

a fuller understanding of population

aging has been the scarcity of relevant, reliable national-level data. In

the 1990s, however, researchers in

South Africa have sought to redress this shortcoming through the

use of survey instruments and enhanced census design and tabulation. This report summarizes the

major demographic aspects affecting the aging of the South African

population and highlights several

socioeconomic characteristics that

affect the wellbeing of older persons.

The Southern Africa region has the

continent’s highest percentage of

older inhabitants; 6.2 percent of

population in 1997 was estimated

to be 60 years of age or older,

slightly more than in the Northern

African region. Within Southern

Africa, South Africa has the highest

proportions of older population

(Table 1), with more than 1 in 8

persons (5.6 million) aged 50 and

over and nearly 7 percent (2.9 million) aged 60 and above. Such aggregate figures, however, mask the

diversity of aging among population

groups. Figure 1 displays 1997

population structures by 5-year age

groups. The pyramidal shape of

the Black population resembles

that of developing countries in the

early stages of demographic transition, where fertility and mortality

rates are relatively high and populations as a whole are “young.”

The broad pyramid base indicates

that large numbers of children continue to be born each year, such

that the majority of the population

has been and still is under 20

years of age. Conversely, the population in older age groups remains

a small proportion of the total. The

White South African population, on

the other hand, already evinces an

age structure similar to some of the

world’s more-developed countries.

After several decades of low fertility

(the 1996 total fertility rate for

Whites was 1.7 births per woman),

the largest 5-year age groups

among Whites are between 25 and

40. More than one-fourth of all

Whites now are aged 50 or above,

with nearly 14 percent in the
0 50 100 150 200 250

80+

75–79

70–74

65–69

60–64

55–59

50–54

45–49

40–44

35–39

30–34

25–29

20–24

15–19

10–14

5–9

0–4

250 100 200 150 50 0

Male Female

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

Figure 1.

Age Structure of South African Population by Group: 1997

Millions

80+

75–79

70–74

65–69

60–64

55–59

50–54

45–49

40–44

35–39

30–34

25–29

20–24

15–19

10–14

5–9

0–4

2.5 0.5 0

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International

Database.

2.0 1.5 1.0

Male

0 50 100 150 200 250

Thousands

80+

75–79

70–74

65–69

60–64

55–59

50–54

45–49

40–44

35–39

30–34

25–29

20–24

15–19

10–14

5–9

0–4

250 100 200 150 50 0

Male

Thousands

Female

Female

Black

Coloured/Asian

White

2

60-and-over category. Corresponding figures for Blacks are 11 and 6

percent, respectively, slightly less

than for Asians and Coloureds

(Table 2).

The total population growth rate in

South Africa is falling rapidly as a

consequence of declining fertility

rates. As more persons live to older ages, the growth rate of the

60-and-over population has come

to exceed that of the total population (Figure 2), and the gap will

widen considerably in the future.

After the turn of the century, the

fastest growing population segment

is likely to be persons aged 70 and

over. While age-group percentages are useful for appreciating the

relative weights of different population segments, absolute numbers

are more important in terms of national population policy and program development. Proportions

that change only slightly over time

may, in fact, deflect attention from

rapidly growing numbers of older

persons and the service requirements generated by such growth.

For example, although the percentage aged 50 and over for the Black

population in Table 2 changes only

modestly from 1997 to 2010, the

absolute growth will be in excess of

1 million persons. 

Median population age (the age

which divides a population into numerically equal parts of younger and

older persons) is another indicator of

the aging process. South Africa currently has the highest median

age—22 years—in the Southern

Africa region, and this level is likely to

increase gradually but steadily

through the year 2025. Median age

varies greatly by population group

within South Africa, with a high of 34

years for Whites, 27 years for

Asians, 25 years for Coloureds, and

20 years for Blacks.
Table 2.

Percentage of South African Population 

in Older Age Groups: 1997 to 2025

Age group

Group Year 50+ 60+ 70+

Asian 1997 16.1 7.2 2.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 22.0 11.1 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 29.7 16.4 7.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Black 1997 11.2 5.6 2.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 13.4 6.9 2.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 12.9 8.0 3.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Coloured 1997 12.3 5.9 2.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 17.7 8.0 3.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 27.2 14.0 5.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

White 1997 26.0 14.3 6.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2010 32.5 19.0 8.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

2025 40.4 25.2 12.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International

Database.

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025

Figure 2.

Average Annual Percentage Growth of Total 

and Older Population

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International 

Database.

Percent

Age 70 and over

Age 60 and over

Total, all ages

White

Black

Coloured

Asian

Figure 3.

Years of Life Expectancy at

Birth and Age 60: 1997

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International

Database.

White

Black

Coloured

Asian

At Birth At Age 60

70

77

52

55

59

68

65

72

17

21

15

18

14

18

15

18

Male

Female

0

3

Life Expectancy and Health

Overall life expectancy at birth in

South Africa in 1997 is estimated

to be 54 years for males and 58

years for females. Again, there is

enormous diversity among population groups (Figure 3). Life expectancy for White South African

women exceeds that of women in

some European nations and is 25

years higher than for Black South

African men. The low levels of life

expectancy at birth for the Black

population reflect, to some extent,

the growing impact of HIV/AIDS

mortality. The long-term consequence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

on population aging remains highly

uncertain. HIV/AIDS may suppress

urban growth rates in South Africa

and in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, and have a selective impact on

young and middle-aged adults who

would be potential supporters of

and caregivers to the elderly. Over

time, however, the projected impact

of the epidemic becomes more

widely distributed across age

groups (Way, 1992); there are fewer children because of pediatric

AIDS mortality and reductions in

numbers of potential mothers, and

there are fewer adults overall because of reduced infant survival

and adult AIDS mortality.

As is the case in virtually all nations

of the world, South African women

outlive men, regardless of population group. Except among Blacks,

the gender difference in life expectancy is greater than in most developing countries. Among persons

who survive to age 60, women retain their life expectancy advantage

over men. At older ages, however,

years of remaining life expectancy

for population groups are quite similar.

South Africa is in the midst of an

epidemiologic transition from the

prominence of infectious diseases

to chronic diseases, with different

emerging health patterns among

population groups. The 1990-91

Multidimensional Survey of Elderly

South Africans, conducted by the

HSRC/UCT Centre for Gerontology
4

at the University of Cape Town,

provided the first comprehensive

look at various aspects of the

health of the elderly. The most

prevalent self-reported condition affecting Blacks, Asians, and

Coloureds was high blood pressure

(hypertension). This condition went

untreated for 11 percent of both urban and rural Blacks. A subsequent national household survey

(Hirschowitz and Orkin, 1995) confirmed the importance of hypertension and also found that 70 percent

of the elderly (age 65 and over)

had a chronic illness or ongoing

health problem. More than half of

the survey respondents reported

having a disability, the most common being difficulty with vision.

Other epidemiologic evidence

(Bradshaw et al., 1995) suggests

high mortality risks due to heart

disease among non-Blacks, with

very high lung and breast cancer

mortality rates seen among the

Coloured population. While the importance of noncommunicable diseases clearly is rising, it should be

stressed that infectious diseases

remain a prominent cause of

mortality and morbidity even at

adult ages, as do violence and motor vehicle accidents.

Because medical insurance has

been generally unavailable in South

Africa, most persons reach old age

with few, if any, benefits. In 1990,

95 percent of urban and 99 percent

of rural elderly Blacks had no medical insurance. However, about 90

percent of each group had annual

medical expenses. Many rely upon

the help of children and relatives to

defray medical costs. Percentages

of elderly Asians (96 percent) and

Coloureds (92 percent) lacking

medical insurance were similarly

high. Sixty-five percent of Whites,

on the other hand, did have medical insurance (often via corporate

schemes), and only 1 percent reported assistance from family or

friends in paying medical expenses

(Ferreira et al., 1992).

In prior decades, access to health

services was difficult for much of

the older population because of the

poor distribution of health facilities,

particularly in rural areas. The

post-apartheid government has

committed itself to the development

of a primary health program, one

facet of which is to establish primary care clinics in underserved

areas. The elderly, however, continue to experience difficulty accessing these (as well as many urban) services due to a lack of

transport. And, with the health program’s current emphasis strongly

on maternal and child care, there is

mounting concern that resources

are being shifted away from needed geriatric care at a time when

growth in the older population is

accelerating.

Urbanization and Education

In most countries in Southern Africa, the elderly are more likely than

the total population to reside in rural areas. This observation is the

norm in most, if not all, regions of

the world (Kinsella and Taeuber,

1993), resulting from the migration

of young adults to cities and sometimes from the return migration of

older adults from urban areas back

to rural homes. In South Africa,

however, the reverse has been

true; data from the 1991 census indicate that while about 45 percent

of the entire population (excluding

the former homelands) lived in nonurban areas, only 38 percent of the

elderly were in nonurban settings.

During the apartheid era, South

African policy permitted only male

migrants to relocate to urban

areas, thus requiring men to leave

their wives (sometimes more than

one) and children in rural areas.

The remaining rural inhabitants relied heavily on remittances from

family members working in the city.

Most older Black labor migrants,

who grew up in tribal communities,

still attach great significance to their

ancestral land (Oosthuizen, 1993).

After working much of their lives in

urban areas, many choose to return to their childhood areas.

Following the elimination of the

Group Areas Act in 1988, South

Africa has seen a massive movement of persons from rural to urban

areas and a proliferation of informal

settlements on urban fringes.

From available data, it is not yet

clear if older citizens are being adversely affected by such movement

(e.g., being left behind in rural

areas to raise grandchildren), are

participating in and benefitting from

migration (through better access to

health and pension systems), or

are adapting in other ways.

Educational levels among older

South Africans remain fairly low in

the 1990s, but will improve as better-educated cohorts reach old age.

Data from the 1991 census reveal

that more than one-third of the

65-and-over population had no formal educational experience

(compared with 12 percent of persons aged 25-34), while another 18

percent had completed less than 7

years of schooling. The 1990-91

Multidimensional Survey found that

two-thirds of older (60+) Blacks and

Asians and half of Coloureds had

less than 5 years of education.

Three-quarters of Whites, by contrast, had completed 10 or more

years of school. As in most developing countries, older men are

somewhat more likely than older

women to have attended school.

With regard to the ability to read

and write, the 1990-91 survey

found relatively high literacy rates

among the 60-and-over population

in urban areas—ranging from 61

percent among Asians to 100 percent among Whites—but a much

lower rate (29 percent) among older rural Blacks.

Marital Status and 

Living Arrangements

Because women live longer on average than do men and tend to

marry men older than themselves,

rates of widowhood increase with

age in most countries of the world.

South Africa is no exception, and
Age 55–64

Age 65–74

Age 75+

Age 55–64

Age 65–74

Age 75+

Figure 4.

Percentage Widowed at Older Ages: 1991

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International

Database.

Female

29

48

68

5

12

23

Male

0 20 40 60 80 100

Asian

Urban Black

Rural Black

 Coloured

White

Figure 5.

Living Arrangements of Elderly

South Africans: 1990

Percent

Alone

Spouse only

Two generations

Three or more generations

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International

Database.

5

indeed the gender difference is

striking (Figure 4). Almost half of

all women aged 60 and over are

widowed compared with only 12

percent of elderly men. The absolute number of widows aged 60

and over increased nearly 100,000

between 1985 and 1991 (to a total

of 559,000). South Africa also has

relatively high percentages of persons 60+ who are never-married or

divorced (9 and 8 percent for

women and men, respectively),

suggesting at least the possibility

that significant numbers of elderly

are without the family support network that is commonly assumed to

be prevalent throughout the region.

In South Africa and several other

African nations, polygamy can be

an important social factor that typically is not reflected in official data.

One survey of Zulus in South Africa (Moller and Welch, 1990) found

that 10 percent of males were in

polygamous marriages. Such 

arrangements were said to be

beneficial to both women and men;

because of the previously-mentioned restrictions on Black female

migration to urban areas, polygamous families enabled one wife to

visit her spouse in the city while the

other wife (wives) cared for home

and children.

Survey data for 1990 show that,

except among Whites, more than

half of all elderly live in households

with three or more co-resident generations (Figure 5). Another 30

percent live in two-generation

households, while fewer than 5

percent live alone. The statistics

for elderly White South Africans

look entirely different: 39 percent

live alone and another 41 percent

reside with their spouse in a twoperson household; fewer than 20

percent live in multigenerational

households. Among very old

Whites aged 85 and over, 7 in 

10 live alone.

The majority of South African survey respondents owned their own

home (or it was owned by their

spouse). Nine out of ten rural

Blacks owned their homes. In the

urban setting, 62 percent of elderly

Whites resided in homes owned by

themselves or their spouse, while

72 percent of Asian elderly resided

in dwellings owned by someone

else (presumably a child) in the

household. The South African survey ascertained access to ten

household conveniences covering

piped water, sanitation, electricity,

appliances, and means of communication. Average access to the

ten conveniences was 97 percent

among Whites, 92 percent for

Asians, 71 percent for Coloureds,

47 percent for urban Blacks and 15

percent for rural Blacks.

Employment and Subsistence

Participation in the formal labor

market fell slightly among older

men between the mid-1980’s and

early 1990’s, while the opposite

was true among older women (Figure 6). Seven in ten men aged

55-64 were economically active in

1991, as were 21 percent of all

men over the age of 64. Corresponding levels for women were 29

percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Especially for women, these figures

may underestimate the true level of

economic activity to the extent that

informal-sector activities are not fully reflected in census data.

South Africa is an exception among

African countries in its formal economic support for older citizens.

Women aged 60 and over and

men aged 65 and over are eligible

for a means-tested general social

pension of Rand 470 (approximately US$100) per month. In contrast

to past levels that varied by race,

persons of all races are now eligible to receive this monthly amount.

Survey data for 1993 (SALDRU,

1994) indicate that 61 and 68 percent of age-qualified men and

women, respectively, receive a social pension. Nearly 80 percent of

the age-qualified Black population

reported receiving a social pension,

although a separate analysis using

different data suggests that this level is closer to 90 percent (versus
0

20

40

60

80

100

Figure 6.

Labor Force Participation Rates: 1985 and 1991

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Programs Center, International

Database.

Percent economically active

Male, 1991 Female, 1991

Male, 1985

Female, 1985

20–24 25–34 35–54 55–64 65+

Age group

6

19 percent for the White population; Van der Berg, 1994).

For many South Africans, the role

of the public pension goes beyond

mere support of the elderly. Pension sharing, particularly in Black

households, is the norm. One survey indicated that while only 4.5

percent of the total population received a pension, 85 percent of all

pensioners lived in three-generation

households (Snyman, 1997). Although pensions may enhance the

economic self-reliance and self-respect of recipients, pensioners’ own

needs may be neglected in the interests of family welfare (Moller and

Sotshongaye, 1996). Furthermore,

the mere fact of pension receipt

does not necessarily ensure an adequate standard of living. A major

finding of the 1993 Project of Statistics on Living Standards and Development was that elderly households (i.e., households with at least

one elderly member) are poor by

most standards. Only 30 percent

of all surveyed elderly households

were living above the poverty line

(Moller and Devey, 1995).

A Brighter Future?

Decades of discrimination and disadvantage have negatively affected

the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of most South African elderly.

The family support system and a

noncontributory old-age pension

scheme have ameliorated some of

the adverse effects. The postapartheid Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) seeks

to redress social inequalities by

providing expanded opportunities

for education, housing, and employment, but most of the RDP is

focussed on improving the situation

of women and youth; the elderly

are not seen as a priority (Ferreira,

Lund and Moller, 1995). Some observers fear that resources may be

diverted from the universal pension

system in order to fund other aspects of the RDP. However, there

is a growing public recognition of

the importance of the pension system as a social safety net. At the

same time, the Ministry of Welfare

is developing new policies and programs regarding community support services for older citizens.

The current emphases within South

Africa on human rights and policy

reform augur well for greater empowerment of the elderly, and for

concrete improvements in basic

health care as well as communitybased comprehensive family care.

References

Bradshaw, D., D.E. Bourne, M. Schneider,

and R. Sayed, 1995, “Mortality Patterns of

Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle in South Africa,”

in Jean Fourie and Krisela Steyn, eds.,

Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle in South Africa,

Medical Research Council Technical Report

1995, Cape Town.

Ferreira, Monica, Frances Lund and Valerie

Moller, 1995, “Status Report from South Africa,” Ageing International, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp.

16-20.

Ferreira, Monica, Valerie Moller, F. R. Prinsloo

and L. S. Gillis, 1992, Multidimensional Survey of Elderly South Africans, 1990-91: Key

Findings, Monograph No. 1, HSRC/UCT

Centre for Gerontology, University of Cape

Town.

Hirschowitz, Ros and Mark Orkin, 1995, A

National Household Survey of Health Inequalities in South Africa, Henry J. Kaiser Family

Foundation, Washington, DC.

Kinsella, Kevin and Cynthia Taeuber, 1993,

An Aging World II, U.S. Bureau of the Census

International Population Report, Washington,

DC.

Moller, Valerie and R. Devey, 1995, “Black

South African Families with Older Members:

Opportunities and Constraints,” Southern African Journal of Gerontology, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp.

3-10.

Moller, Valerie and Ayanda Sotshongaye,

1996, “‘My Family Eat This Money Too’: Pension Sharing and Self-respect among Zulu

Grandmothers,” Southern African Journal of

Gerontology, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 9-19.

Moller, Valerie and Gary John Welch, 1990,

“Polygamy, Economic Security and Well-Being of Retired Zulu Migrant Workers,” Journal

of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, No. 5, pp.

205-216.

Oosthuizen, J.S., 1993, “Patterns of Migration

in Southern Africa with Special Reference to

South Africa,” University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Snyman, Ina, 1997, “Pensions: Lifeline of the

Poor,” In Focus Forum, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp.

8-11.

South Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU), 1994, South Africans

Rich and Poor: Baseline Household Statistics, University of Cape Town Project for Living Standards and Development, Cape Town.

Van der Berg, Servaas, 1994, “Issues in

South African Social Security,” World Bank

Background Paper, Washington, DC.

Way, Peter, 1992, “The Demographic Impact

of HIV,” Paper presented to the VIII International Conference on AIDS, July, Amsterdam.

The International Programs Center

(IPC) of the U.S. Bureau of the Census

collects and analyzes population and

related statistics from all countries of the

world. This brief was produced with the

support of the Office of the Demography of Aging, U.S. National Institute on

Aging. More detailed information is

available from the International Programs Center, Population Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC

20233-8860 USA.