South Africa vs United Kingdom
United Kingdom has 7% more people than South Africa: 69,487,000 vs 64,747,319, a gap of 4.7 million. South Africa is growing faster (+1.15% vs +0.30% a year), adding about 744,395 people a year against +206,306. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, South Africa would overtake United Kingdom in about 8 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2033) — a projection, not a forecast. United Kingdom is the older society: 19.7% aged 65+ against 6.9% in South Africa, while South Africa has more children (25.7% under 15 vs 17.0%). United Kingdom is 5.4× as densely populated (283.2 vs 52.1 people per km²). People in United Kingdom live 15.1 years longer on average (81.4 vs 66.3). GDP per capita is 8.7× higher in United Kingdom ($57,602 vs $6,598).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (South Africa) and 2025 (United Kingdom); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
South Africa vs United Kingdom — side by side
 South Africa |  United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 64,747,3192025 | 69,487,0002025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +1.15%2025 | +0.30%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 18.52024 | 9.92024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 9.22024 | 9.72024 |
| Children per woman | 2.212024 | 1.552024 |
| Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs2024 | 81.4 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 25.7%2025 | 17.0%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 6.9%2025 | 19.7%2025 |
| Density | 52.1 /km²2023 | 283.2 /km²2023 |
| Area | 1,219,090 km²2023 | 243,610 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 63.8%2025 | 83.3%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | +146,3702025 | +389,9112025 |
| GDP per capita | $6,5982025 | $57,6022025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #24 | #22 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.79% | 0.85% |
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; United Kingdom: 1.3× 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.
United Kingdom: United Kingdom vs India, United Kingdom vs China, United Kingdom vs United States, United Kingdom vs Indonesia, United Kingdom vs Pakistan, United Kingdom vs Nigeria, United Kingdom vs Brazil, United Kingdom vs Bangladesh.
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