Census ’96: National Results Final results from the Population Census, which reached out to all South Africans as equal citizens of a democracy, are now available. Dr Mark Orkin, Head of Stats SA announced today that on the night of 9/10 October 1996 there were 40,58 million people in South Africa, after adjusting for undercount. The results "hold up a mirror to our rainbow nation", Dr Orkin said. For example, the most common first home language was isiZulu, spoken by 23% of people, followed by isiXhosa, 18%. Some 14% of South Africans spoke Afrikaans as their first home language, and 9% English. More than half the population, 54% lived in urban areas at the time of the census. The most urbanised province was Gauteng, at 97%. At the other extreme was the Northern Province, with 11% of its population in urban areas.. Dr Orkin also noted that the census results provided an authoritative new educational profile of our country. While 6% of South Africans have post school qualifications 19%, of South Africans aged 20 years or more had never attended school. Incomes pose a contrast. At the upper end of the scale, a quarter of the employed were earning more than R2500 per month at the time of the census, while at the lower end a quarter were earning R500 or less per month. "Both gender and population group have a strong effect", noted Dr Ros Hirschowitz, chief director of Research. One third of white women versus two thirds of white men earn more than R3500 per month. But only one in twenty of black female or male earners fall into this category. "The census also contains a wealth of information on households. This will enable planners to target more accurately, and provide a baseline for monitoring improvements," Dr Orkin noted. Nationwide, 65% of households occupied formal houses, flats, or rooms; whereas 18% of households were living in traditional dwellings and another 17% in shacks. "The census is unique in providing such figures down to suburb and village level", Dr Orkin added. Fewer than half of South African households, 45%, had a tap inside the dwelling. Electricity was used for lighting in 58% of households, while 29% were still using candles, and 13% paraffin. More than three quarters of people in South Africa, 77%, counted on census night classified themselves as African, while 11% classified themselves as white, and 9% as coloured. The Indian/Asian population group is smallest at 3%. The province with most people was KwaZulu-Natal (8,4m), followed by Gauteng (7,3m) and then Eastern Cape (6,3m). Northern Cape has the fewest people, i.e. 0,8m, al though it is the largest province in area. A pocket summary of results in tables and graphs, "Census in Brief", is available free on request from Stats SA. |