The South African population, like many other countries, keeps on growing. While the population keeps on increasing, the supply of resources is constantly falling behind the demand. On this page, we explore the main causes of overpopulation in South Africa. It is important to note that the causes of overpopulation in South Africa are not that different from the causes all over the world.
How many people live in South Africa?
According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) 2019, the South African population is seating on 58,78 million and more. Approximately 51,2% (approximately 30 million) of the population is female. The black African population is in the majority (47,4 million) and constitutes approximately 81% of the total South African population.
Overpopulation in Africa Video
The 4 main Causes of Overpopulation in South Africa
Below are some of the main causes of overpopulation in South Africa:
- Poverty – in South Africa, some of the poorest of the poor view social grants for kids as a great motivation to continue having kids.
- Less mortality rate – due to the great medical advances, the mortality rate continues to drop all over the world, including in South Africa. South Africa in particular, has seen a significant mortality drop in the groups of people who are infected with HIV since 2007 until now.
- Not using contraceptives – many females in South Africa still need to be educated about the proper use of contraceptives to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
- Urbanisation – Urbanisation in South Africa is one of the main causes of overpopulation in urban areas such as Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, and Pretoria.
Apart from the listed four causes of overpopulation in South Africa, Immigration is a huge problem in South Africa. Many immigrants from foreign countries came to South Africa illegally and are not willing to go back to their countries. They come to South Africa to seek better employment opportunities. Read: What is the impact of immigration and refugees on the population of SA