The number of people aged 60 and older in South Africa has almost doubled over the past twenty years.

This is according to new data released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).

In 2002 there were 3.6 million people in South Africa aged 60 and older, equivalent to 7.7% of the population. By 2025 this had increased by about three million people to 6.6 million, representing 10.5% of the population.

Over the period the number of older people grew by 84.7%, compared with overall population growth of 35.3%.

Stats SA projects that by 2050 the share of people aged 60 and older will have risen further to 16.2% of the population.

In 2025, the province with the highest proportion of older residents was the Eastern Cape, where 12.9% of people were aged 60 and older. Four other provinces also recorded shares above 10% of the population. These were the Western Cape at 12.3%, the Northern Cape at 11.1%, the Free State at 11.1%, and Gauteng at 10.2%.

The proportion of older people in the remaining provinces was lower. North West recorded 9.8%, Limpopo 9.7%, KwaZulu-Natal 9.2%, and Mpumalanga 9.2%.

In 2002 there had not been a single province where more than 10% of the population was aged 60 or older.

The shift reflects a broader global trend driven by rising life expectancy and declining fertility rates. As these forces continue to reshape demographics, the share of older people in South Africa’s population is expected to rise steadily in the decades ahead, which has important implications for South African policymakers.