2022 South African census


The South African National Census of 2022 is the 4th comprehensive census performed by Statistics South Africa. The census results were released on 10 October 2023 and recorded a total of 62 million people in the country. Collection issues and delays, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in uncertainty about the accuracy of the findings and increased costs of its implementation. The Census cost R4 billion to implement, roughly double the amount as the 2011 census.

Key findings

The first reports of statistics, published on 10 October 2023, showed a total population of 62,027,503.
  • Area:
  • Population: 62,027,503
  • Households: 17,828,778

Demographics

81,4% of the population is black African. The median age of the total population is 28 years.
RankGender2011 Census2022 CensusChangePercent
change
1 Female18.33%
2 Male 17.69%

Collection issues

Originally Stats SA intended to implement the census exactly ten years after the 2011 census on 10 October 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa caused repeated delays in planning and logistics of the census resulting in the census date being pushed back to 2 February 2022 with all data being collected by the end of that month. Due to additional logistical and implementation issues, complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the completion date was initially pushed back to 20 March, then 30 April for the whole country. An additional extension was made for the Western Cape.
After the publication of the census results it was reported that the under-count rate was 31% for the population as a whole but as high as 72% for Indian South Africans and 62% for White South Africans. The under-count rate being the highest in the Western Cape province.
The high under-count rate was reported as an issue of concern as it raised questions about the accuracy of the number of White, Indian, foreign-born and homeless people recorded in the census. In August 2024 STATS SA announced that due to reporting anomalies it would not be releasing key data such as figures on mortality, fertility, employment and household income.
These issues caused the South African academics, Professor Tom Moultrie and Emeritus Professor Rob Dorrington, to state that the statistics were likely not accurate enough for official use. Despite these criticisms, most notably the under-counting problem, STATS SA rejected calls from academia and other researchers for a recount and instead stated that the results were credible.

The Western Cape

The census taking period was extended in the Western Cape province to 14 May 2022 after it was announced that only 58% of the province's population had participated in it by late April that year; whilst around 80% of the country's whole population had been surveyed by the same date. The deadline was extended a second time in the Western Cape to 31 May as only 78% of the province's population had been counted by the end of the first extension period.
The issue of under-counting in the Western Cape Province was a serious issue of concern for the Western Cape Provincial government as it might result in fewer resources being allocated to the province by national government on a per-capita basis relative to the rest of the country.
Stats SA reported particular difficulty in getting an accurate census count of both White and Coloured residents which accounted for the low census participation rate in the Western Cape province. In the Western Cape census workers reported difficulty in contacting households with high walls - thereby preventing many surveys from being conducted - whilst other households refused to participate in the census. Other problems encountered by Stats SA in the province included not being able to hire enough census workers or being able to secure enough vehicles.