Post on 21-May-2015
transcript
SA’s population: An overview
• Estimated pop in mid 2010 as 49.99 million
• Races : 79.3% black, 9.1% white, 9.0 % Coloured, 2.6% Indian
• Sex: imbalance, with 52% female
Overview
• ISSUES: – Immigrants (illegal vs
legal)
- Age: White population is an AGING one....
• Fertility rates are declining....
• More women than men – why?
Age and life expectancy
• Some segments of SA’s population are aging: White and (slowly) Indian population groups.
• BUT: Overall the average life expectancy is declining: men= 53.3 to 49 and women = 55.2 to 50.
• HIV: 11% of the population is infected. Esp high levels in the 15 to 35 age group.
• Crime and the murder rate• More people are murdered
than killed in car accidents...
Youth and dependency
• SA has a youthful population.
– 31.4% under the age of 15.
– 7.5% over 60
– Roughly 20 million are dependents (not able to work). This is a LARGE dependency ratio.
High infant mortality rate (45.7 per 1000)
Population distribution
• Natural Resources: mining (gold, coal, platinum, diamonds)
• Historical factors: Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria.
• Water: Dry western half of SA, wetter eastern half.
• Economics: Gauteng, W. Cape and KZN
Movement within SA
• Great deal of internal migration: – Exit the Eastern Cape,
Limpopo– Move to Gauteng, KZN and
Western Cape– Reasons:
• Job opportunities• Poor service delivery• Medical care• Educational institutions,
esp tertiary.
The welfare state
• Relative to population size, SA is the LARGEST welfare state in the world.
• 13 million receive welfare payments: – Child grants, pensions,
disability grants. BUT: we have only 5.2 million
tax payers. 31% of our population is on
welfare, 10.6% pay tax. And we are planning to add
more – child grants to 18, old age pensions for men aged 60.
Language:
• 24% claim IsiZulu as home language.
• 18% IsiXhosa• BUT: English is
becoming a dominant language in South Africa: – Business and trade– Culture – Politics – Science