Urban population growth in South Africa
South Africa: Urban population growth was 1.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in South Africa, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 1.3% for urban population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of down 5.5% on the previous year and down 36.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in South Africa peaked at 4.3% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2017.
That places South Africa 104th out of 217 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in South Africa, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.2% | — |
| 1962 | 3.3% | +3.8% |
| 1963 | 3.3% | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 3.3% | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 3.3% | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 3.3% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 3.3% | +0.2% |
| 1968 | 3.3% | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 3.3% | -1.0% |
| 1970 | 3.2% | -1.8% |
| 1971 | 3.1% | -3.6% |
| 1972 | 3.0% | -2.7% |
| 1973 | 3.0% | -0.7% |
| 1974 | 2.9% | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 2.9% | -1.8% |
| 1976 | 2.8% | -2.1% |
| 1977 | 2.8% | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 2.9% | +1.5% |
| 1979 | 2.9% | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 3.2% | +12.7% |
| 1981 | 3.6% | +12.3% |
| 1982 | 3.7% | +2.8% |
| 1983 | 3.8% | +2.5% |
| 1984 | 3.8% | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 3.8% | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 3.9% | +3.6% |
| 1987 | 4.2% | +7.0% |
| 1988 | 4.3% | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 4.2% | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 3.9% | -7.2% |
| 1991 | 3.1% | -20.4% |
| 1992 | 2.3% | -25.1% |
| 1993 | 2.4% | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 2.0% | -17.4% |
| 1995 | 1.6% | -18.5% |
| 1996 | 1.8% | +12.7% |
| 1997 | 2.0% | +9.7% |
| 1998 | 2.4% | +20.9% |
| 1999 | 2.5% | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | -5.4% |
| 2001 | 2.2% | -8.8% |
| 2002 | 2.1% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 2.2% | +4.1% |
| 2004 | 2.2% | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 2.2% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 2.2% | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 2.0% | -5.8% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | -10.5% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | -10.6% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 1.8% | +8.8% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 2.1% | +18.7% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -50.9% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -28.9% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | +136.4% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | -6.0% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | -6.8% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +2.7% |
| 2024 | 1.4% | -4.9% |
| 2025 | 1.3% | -5.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.9% | 3.2% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.4% | 1.6% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 0.7% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More climate change data for South Africa
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 34,365 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 11,741 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 22,624 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 44.31 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 807.99 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,495 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,119 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 376.6 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 19.32 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 13.45 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in South Africa?
- Urban population growth in South Africa was 1.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.3% in 1988.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2017.
- How does South Africa rank for urban population growth?
- South Africa ranks 104th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.