The death rate in South Africa increased by 0.6 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants (+5.25 percent) in 2022. Therefore, the death rate in South Africa reached a peak in 2022 with 12.03 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants. The crude death rate is the annual number of deaths in a given population, expressed per 1,000 people. When looked at in unison with the crude birth rate, the rate of natural increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about South Africa with key insights such as crude birth rate, fertility rate of women aged between 15 and 19 years old, and total fertility rate.

Death rate, crude (per 1,000 people) in South Africa was reported at 12.03 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Death rate, crude - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

The statistic shows the adult mortality rate in South Africa from 2012 to 2022, by gender. According to the source, the adult mortality rate is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60 - that is, the probability of a 15-year-old dying before reaching age 60, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year between those ages. In 2022, the mortality rate for women was at 307.78 per 1,000 female adults, while the mortality rate for men was at 416.31 per 1,000 male adults in South Africa.

South Africa ZA: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 9.793 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.102 Ratio for 2015. South Africa ZA: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 11.455 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.815 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 8.199 Ratio in 1991. South Africa ZA: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude death rate indicates the number of deaths occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

In 2022, the average crude death rate in Africa was 8.4 deaths per 1,000 people. The mortality rate on the continent has decreased gradually since the 2000s. In comparison, the death rate stood at roughly 13 deaths per 1,000 population in 2000. Decreasing mortality, together with high fertility and rising life expectancy, is a key driver of Africa's population growth.

As of November 16, 2020, a total of 17.577 COVID-19 related casualties were registered in South Africa. Some 14.1 percent of the deaths fell within the age group of 60 to 64 years with, whereas 12.6 percent of whom were aged 55 to 59 passed away due to the diseases caused by the coronavirus. Confirmed coronavirus cases per region in South Africa illustrated Gauteng was hit hardest. As of January 15, 2021, the region with Johannesburg as its capital registered 350,976 individuals with COVID-19 , whereas KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape had dealt with less cases.

Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per 100,000 live births. The data are estimated with a regression model using information on the proportion of maternal deaths among non-AIDS deaths in women ages 15-49, fertility, birth attendants, and GDP.

UNICEF's country profile for South Africa, including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

In 2022, the estimated number of deaths in South Africa reached 663,075. This was lower compared to the previous year when the deaths in the country reached the highest level since 2002, at 701,360. From 2006 onwards (except in 2015), the number of fatalities dropped annually until 2017. In 2021, however, the count of deaths jumped significantly due to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

South Africa ZA: Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 43.300 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 44.100 Ratio for 2015. South Africa ZA: Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 66.000 Ratio from Dec 1974 (Median) to 2016, with 43 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 125.500 Ratio in 1974 and a record low of 43.300 Ratio in 2016. South Africa ZA: Mortality Rate: Under-5: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Health Statistics. Under-five mortality rate is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.; ; Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Weighted average; Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.

Abstract

This dataset contains statistics on deaths in South Africa in 2014. The registration of deaths in South Africa is regulated by the Births and Deaths Registration Act, 51 of 1992. The South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is responsible for the registration of deaths in South Africa. The data is collected with two instruments: The death register and the medical certificate in respect of death. The staff of the DHA Registrar of Deaths section fills in the former while the medical practitioner attending to the death completes the latter. Causes of death are coded by the Department of Home Affairs according to the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) ICD-10, as required by the World Health Organization for their member countries. The data is used by the Department of Home Affairs to update the Population Register. The forms are sent to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) for their use for statistical purposes. From the two forms sent to Stats SA, the following data items of the deceased are extracted: place of residence, place of death, date of death, month and year of registration, sex, marital status, occupation, underlying cause of death, whether or not the death was certified by a medical practitioner, and whether or not the deceased died in a health institution or nursing home. From 1991 death notifications do not require data on population group, and therefore this dataset includes death data for all population groups. This dataset excludes 2014 deaths that were not registered, and late registrations which would not have been available to Stats SA in time for the production of the dataset.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Individuals

Universe

The data covers all deaths that occurred in 2014 which were registered at the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa.

Kind of data

Administrative records data [adm]

Mode of data collection

Other [oth]

Research instrument

The data is collected with two instruments: The death register and the medical certificate in respect of death.

The statistic shows the death rate in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2012 to 2022. Sub-Saharan Africa includes almost all countries south of the Sahara desert. In 2022, there were about 8.84 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in Sub-Saharan Africa.

South Africa ZA: Mortality Rate Attributed to Unintentional Poisoning: Male: per 100,000 Male Population data was reported at 1.300 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.400 Ratio for 2015. South Africa ZA: Mortality Rate Attributed to Unintentional Poisoning: Male: per 100,000 Male Population data is updated yearly, averaging 1.300 Ratio from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.400 Ratio in 2015 and a record low of 1.100 Ratio in 2005. South Africa ZA: Mortality Rate Attributed to Unintentional Poisoning: Male: per 100,000 Male Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Health Statistics. Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisonings is the number of male deaths from unintentional poisonings in a year per 100,000 male population. Unintentional poisoning can be caused by household chemicals, pesticides, kerosene, carbon monoxide and medicines, or can be the result of environmental contamination or occupational chemical exposure.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

This bar chart displays death rate (per 1,000 people) by ISO 3 country code and is filtered where the country is South Africa. The data is about countries per year.

Chart and table of the Southafrica death rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

In 2022, the crude death rate in Africa was 8.4 deaths per 1,000 people. Significant variations were observed between the continent's regions. Specifically, Southern Africa registered the highest crude death rate, counting 12 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants, while the lowest levels of mortality were recorded in Northern Africa.

Share of deaths from noncommunicable diseases of South Africa rose by 0.06% from 51.3 % in 2016 to 51.3 % in 2019. Since the 3.98% upward trend in 2010, share of deaths from noncommunicable diseases soared by 25.77% in 2019. (Age-standardized mortality rate)

South Africa maternal mortality rate for 2020 was 127.00, a 7.63% increase from 2019.

• South Africa maternal mortality rate for 2019 was 118.00, a 5.6% decline from 2018.
• South Africa maternal mortality rate for 2018 was 125.00, a 6.02% decline from 2017.
• South Africa maternal mortality rate for 2017 was 133.00, a 4.72% increase from 2016.

Maternal mortality ratio is the number of women who die from pregnancy-related causes while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination per 100,000 live births. The data are estimated with a regression model using information on the proportion of maternal deaths among non-AIDS deaths in women ages 15-49, fertility, birth attendants, and GDP.

This horizontal bar chart displays death rate (per 1,000 people) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation average, weighted by population and is filtered where the country is South Africa. The data is about countries per year.

Latest data from 2017 show that Tuberculosis was with approximately 28,700 cases the leading cause of death in South Africa. Diabetes mellitus caused 25 thousand casualties and was the second highest underlying cause of death, whereas 22,259 people passed away due to Cerebrovascular diseases (e.g. stroke, carotid stenosis). HIV/AIDS was the fifth ranked disease, causing 21,439 casualties. In total, roughly 20.6 million people in East and Southern Africa lived with HIV in 2018, causing over 300,000 AIDS-related deaths.