Life in South Africa

What these numbers mean

A newborn in the South Africa can expect to live 66.3 years, far below the dataset median of 74.7 years. Infant mortality runs at 24.2 deaths per 1,000 live births (2024), so roughly 24 in every thousand babies do not reach their first birthday. Output per person, adjusted for purchasing power, is $15,479 (2024) — which puts the country in the lower half of the dataset on purchasing power, and it is what sets the scale of every income the simulation can offer. The fertility rate is 2.21 births per woman (2024) — close to replacement level. Adult literacy stands at 91.2% (2024), so schooling in the simulation starts close to universal here. 17.4% of the population lives below the national poverty line (2022). Public spending on education is 6.0% of output (2024), which is the share of national resources the simulation's schooling decisions are competing for. 63.7% of people live in urban areas (2024), so where you start — village, town, city or capital — is a real difference in what the same life can offer.

In the simulation, income is expressed as a share of what an average worker in the South Africa earns, so the same household choice buys very different amounts in different countries. Median output per person across this dataset is $21,026.

Background groups in the South Africa

These are the official classifications this country publishes. The simulation applies a difference between them only where a published statistic supports one — it never treats any group as better or worse than another.

• Black African population
  Basis: Statistics South Africa population group classification · 80% of the population

  The legacy of apartheid's racial classification of work, residence and education still shapes measured income and schooling outcomes four decades after its legal abolition.

  Source: Statistics South Africa; World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief

• Coloured population
  Basis: Statistics South Africa population group classification · 9% of the population

  A middle-income group in the apartheid classification, positioned between the other major groups on most measured outcomes.

  Source: Statistics South Africa; World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief

• White population
  Basis: Statistics South Africa population group classification · 8% of the population

  The group with the highest measured average income and the smallest documented schooling gap in South Africa.

  Source: Statistics South Africa; World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief

• Indian South African population
  Basis: Statistics South Africa population group classification · 3% of the population

  A small population with comparatively high average income and schooling, concentrated in commerce and the professions.

  Source: Statistics South Africa; World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief

Where the South Africa sits within Sub-Saharan Africa

Of the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that report life expectancy, the South Africa sits above the regional median, at 66.3 years against a regional median of 64.3. 18 countries report a higher figure and 29 report a lower one.

Ranges cover every country in the region that reports the indicator, in the year each country last reported it. Medians are unweighted, so a large country and a small one count the same.