Sub-Saharan Africa

A life that begins in South Africa

One in every 112 babies in the world is born here: about 1,196,530 a year, 2.3 a minute.

Population: 64,747,319
Births a year: 1,196,530
Life expectancy: 66.3
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000): 35.1

Health and survival

Life expectancy, women (years)
69.8
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
62.8
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
24.2
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
35.1
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
118
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
17.2
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
24
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
7.1
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
22.2
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
43.7
World: 4.7

Family and school

Children per woman
2.21
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
4
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
87
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
100
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
23
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
27.7
World: 11.9

Money and work

Income per person (PPP)
$13,592
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
54
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
17.4
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
32.4
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
5
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
50
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
7
World: 37

Home and connection

Living in cities (%)
64
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
90
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
90
World: 91
Internet users (%)
78
World: 72

Peace and wellbeing

Life satisfaction (0–10)
5.01
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0
World: 0.34

From 1960 to 2050

How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.

Life expectancy

1960: 52.7 → 2026: 66.4 → 2050: 70.3

World

Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)

1960: 288 → 2026: 30 → 2050: 12

World

Children per woman

1960: 6.1 → 2026: 2.2 → 2050: 1.9

World

Living in cities (%)

1960: 47 → 2026: 64 → 2050: 71

World

Nobody chooses where they are born

In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: South Africa comes up about once in every 112 lives.

Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.