Africa · Southern Africa

How many babies are born in South Africa?

1.17 million babies born in South Africa in 2026. That is 0.88% of all births worldwide, and the 25th largest of any country. UN projection

3,200births per day
133per hour
2per minute
17.8births per 1,000 people
2.17children per woman
65.45 millionpopulation

2024–2100 uses the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, based on assumptions about fertility, mortality and migration. These are projections, not observed births or guaranteed outcomes. Uncertainty increases further into the future; this site does not display prediction intervals.

Births in South Africa: history and projections

Annual births, logarithmic scale. Shading marks modelled years before 1800; the dashed line marks UN projections from 2024.

Every figure refers to the area inside South Africa’s present-day borders. Before 1800 the state did not exist in its current form. See how borders are handled.
Year	Estimated births	Population	Per 1,000	Evidence
1 CE	~3.8K	~93K	41.1	Modelled estimate
1000	~11K	~260K	41.4	Modelled estimate
1500	~21K	~520K	41.3	Modelled estimate
1800	~64.8K	~1.45M	44.8	Historical reconstruction
1900	~231K	~5.16M	44.8	Historical reconstruction
1950	534K	13M	41.0	UN estimate
2000	1.02M	47.2M	21.6	UN estimate
2023	1.19M	63.2M	18.8	UN estimate
2026	1.17M	65.5M	17.8	UN projection
2050	1.14M	79.2M	14.4	UN projection
2075	1.12M	88.3M	12.6	UN projection
2100	1.1M	94.3M	11.7	UN projection

What the numbers show

The highest annual births in South Africa among estimates through 2023 were in 2008, at about 1.24M. That is roughly 327 times the estimated ~3.8K births a year in 1 CE.

At 2.17 children per woman, fertility in South Africa is above the level of about 2.1 that would hold a population steady over the long run without migration.

See South Africa on the map

How many babies are born in South Africa each year?

An estimated 1.17 million babies are born in South Africa in 2026, according to the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection. That is about 3,200 a day and 0.88% of all births worldwide.

What is the birth rate in South Africa?

South Africa has an estimated 17.8 births per 1,000 people in 2026, and a total fertility rate of 2.17 children per woman.

Where these numbers come from

2026 figures are the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario. UN estimates cover 1950–2023; projections cover 2024–2100. Earlier years come from Gapminder’s reconstructions (1800–1949) and a model applied to HYDE population estimates (before 1800). The full chain is set out in the methodology, and every source is listed on the sources page.