South Africa vs Türkiye
Türkiye has 1.3× the population of South Africa: 85,878,556 vs 64,747,319, a gap of 21.1 million. South Africa is growing faster (+1.15% vs +0.42% a year), adding about 744,395 people a year against +360,651. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, South Africa would overtake Türkiye in about 39 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2064) — a projection, not a forecast. Türkiye is the older society: 10.6% aged 65+ against 6.9% in South Africa, while South Africa has more children (25.7% under 15 vs 21.0%). Türkiye is 2.1× as densely populated (110.9 vs 52.1 people per km²). People in Türkiye live 11.1 years longer on average (77.4 vs 66.3). GDP per capita is 2.8× higher in Türkiye ($18,599 vs $6,598).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (South Africa) and 2025 (Türkiye); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
South Africa vs Türkiye — side by side
 South Africa |  Türkiye | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 64,747,3192025 | 85,878,5562025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +1.15%2025 | +0.42%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 18.52024 | 11.02024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 9.22024 | 5.72024 |
| Children per woman | 2.212024 | 1.482024 |
| Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs2024 | 77.4 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 25.7%2025 | 21.0%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 6.9%2025 | 10.6%2025 |
| Density | 52.1 /km²2023 | 110.9 /km²2023 |
| Area | 1,219,090 km²2023 | 785,350 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 63.8%2025 | 89.5%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | +146,3702025 | -258,2052025 |
| GDP per capita | $6,5982025 | $18,5992025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #24 | #18 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.79% | 1.05% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). South Africa: 3.9× from 1960 to 2025; Türkiye: 3.0× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa · Europe & Central Asia · rankings
South Africa: South Africa vs India, South Africa vs China, South Africa vs United States, South Africa vs Indonesia, South Africa vs Pakistan, South Africa vs Nigeria, South Africa vs Brazil, South Africa vs Bangladesh.
Türkiye: Türkiye vs India, Türkiye vs China, Türkiye vs United States, Türkiye vs Indonesia, Türkiye vs Pakistan, Türkiye vs Nigeria, Türkiye vs Brazil, Türkiye vs Bangladesh.
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