2011 Census data released

Andiswa Mkosi

30 October 2012

Stats SA today released Census 2011 results, showing that the country’s population grew to 51.8 million people.The Census of 2001 put South Africa’s population at 44.8 million people, and the 2011 Census returned a count of 51.8 million.

The difference in the population numbers between 2001 and 2011 is seven million and represents a 15.5% population increase over the last decade.

The Eastern Cape recorded population decline in the national population and housing count, slowing from 15.1% in 1996 to 12.7% in 2011.

The latest census revealed large-scale urban migration into Gauteng and the Western Cape, draining at least four of the country’s other provinces.

Western Cape Premier’s spokesperson Zak Mbhele says migration from rural to urban as well as from other provinces into the Western Cape has been an ongoing trend for many years.

Mbhele said that poses a challenge for the Western Cape government in terms of rolling out infrastructure and providing basic services.

The release analyses the country’s demographics, population distribution, and access to services, average household size, income, migration, and mortality.

The Census 2011 was the third national population and housing count in post-apartheid South Africa. The exercise saw 156 000 field staff employed last year to count more than 14.6 million households.

The average household income for black Africans was R60 613 while whites was highest at R365 134.