Demographic Profile of Adolescents in South Africa

The Demographic Profile of Adolescents in South Africa "report employed data from Censuses 1996, 2001 and 2011, Community Survey 2016, Mortality and Causes of Death 2015, and the General Household Survey 2016 to provide data on the state of the adolescent population in South Africa. The findings indicate that adolescents made up 18,5% of the total population of South Africa in 2016. Eastern Cape (22,7%), Limpopo (21,4%) and KwaZulu-Natal (20,7%) are the provinces where adolescents made up the largest number of the adolescent population, whilst the lowest numbers were recorded in Gauteng and Western Cape. The results show that the majority of adolescents are amongst the black African (19,3%) and coloured (18%) population groups. The Indian/Asian (14%) and white (12%) population groups constituted the lowest proportion of adolescents in the country. Across all the provinces there was a slight increase in the adolescent population from 1996 to 2001, which later showed a decreasing pattern between 2001 and 2011. In 2016, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West observed a steady increase in the adolescent population. The median age of adolescents over time was approximately 14 years."

The report revealed that adolescent fertility increased in 2011 (72 births per 1 000 women aged 15–19) after reaching low levels in 2001 (65 births per 1 000 women aged 15–19). The observation on adolescent mortality showed that there has been a decline in the proportion of deaths amongst adolescents in the country. Gauteng was home to the majority of foreign-born adolescents (45,4%). About 51% of all foreign-born adolescents were female, and the majority of foreign-born adolescents in South Africa are black African (88,3%). Almost three-quarters of foreign-born adolescents are not South African citizens."