Two South African Census workers collecting data for the national census.
The South African National Census of 2022 is the 4th comprehensive census performed by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).[1] The census results were released on 10 October 2023 and recorded a total of 62 million people in the country.[2][3]
Key findings
The first reports of statistics, published on 10 October 2023, showed a total population of 62,027,503.[4]
The census taking period was extended in the Western Cape province to 14 May 2022 after it was announced that only 58% of the province's population had participated in it by late April that year;[8] whilst around 80% of the country's whole population had been surveyed by the same date.[8] The deadline was extended a second time in the Western Cape to 31 May as only 78% of the province's population had been counted by the end of the first extension period.[9]
The issue of under-counting in the Western Cape Province was a serious issue of concern for the Western Cape Provincial government as it might result in fewer resources being allocated to the province by national government on a per-capita basis relative to the rest of the country.[8]
Stats SA reported particular difficulty in getting an accurate census count of both White and Coloured residents which accounted for the low census participation rate in the Western Cape province.[10] In the Western Cape census workers reported difficulty in contacting households with high walls - thereby preventing many surveys from being conducted - whilst other households refused to participate in the census.[11] Other problems encountered by Stats SA in the province included not being able to hire enough census workers or being able to secure enough vehicles.[11]
After the publication of the census results it was reported that the under-count rate was 31%[12] with the under-count rate being the highest in the Western Cape.[6] The high under-count rate was reported as an issue of concern as it raised questions about the accuracy of the number of white, Indian, foreign-born and homeless people recorded in the census.[12] In August 2024 STATS SA announced that due to reporting anomalies it would not be releasing key data such as figures on mortality, fertility, employment and household income.[13]
Despite these criticisms, most notably the under-counting problem, STATS SA rejected calls from academia and other researchers for a recount and instead stated that the results were credible.[13]
