South Africa vs United States
United States has 5.3× the population of South Africa: 341,784,857 vs 64,747,319, a gap of 277.0 million. South Africa is growing faster (+1.15% vs +0.52% a year), adding about 744,395 people a year against +1,785,717. At these source-year rates the modelled relative population gap is narrowing, but too slowly to close within two centuries. United States is the older society: 18.4% aged 65+ against 6.9% in South Africa, while South Africa has more children (25.7% under 15 vs 17.1%). South Africa is 1.4× as densely populated (52.1 vs 36.8 people per km²). People in United States live 12.6 years longer on average (78.9 vs 66.3). GDP per capita is 13.6× higher in United States ($90,027 vs $6,598).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (South Africa) and 2025 (United States); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
South Africa vs United States — side by side
 South Africa |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 64,747,3192025 | 341,784,8572025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +1.15%2025 | +0.52%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 18.52024 | 10.62024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 9.22024 | 9.02024 |
| Children per woman | 2.212024 | 1.632024 |
| Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs2024 | 78.9 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 25.7%2025 | 17.1%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 6.9%2025 | 18.4%2025 |
| Density | 52.1 /km²2023 | 36.8 /km²2023 |
| Area | 1,219,090 km²2023 | 9,831,510 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 63.8%2025 | 80.2%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | +146,3702025 | +1,230,6632025 |
| GDP per capita | $6,5982025 | $90,0272025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #24 | #3 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.79% | 4.16% |
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 States: 1.9× 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 · North America · 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 States: United States vs India, United States vs China, United States vs Indonesia, United States vs Pakistan, United States vs Nigeria, United States vs Brazil, United States vs Bangladesh, United States vs Russia.
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