Demographic changes in South Africa, 1994-2004

Martin E. Palamuleni, North West University

Little is known about the demography of South Africa. This is due to pre-1994 government policies and consequent isolation of the country. There is no doubt that the social, economic, and political transformations that took place in South Africa over the past decades had a direct effect on the development of nature and patterns of demographic parameters in the country. Using the 1996 and 2001 South African population censuses, the paper presents the salient features of the population of South Africa. In particular, this paper critically examines the 1996 and 2001 censuses to bring out major demographic characteristics of the population of South Africa. The paper concludes that fertility has remained more or less constant during the period under review, mortality has worsened as a result of HIV/AIDS epidemic and migration between and within regions has increased as a result of easing of the restrictions imposed by pre-1994 government.