Cape Town - Life expectancy for South African men and women dropped by more than three and four years respectively, during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Statistician-General of South Africa, Risenga Maluleke yesterday released the 2022 Mid-year population estimates report at a media briefing in Pretoria.
For 2022, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) estimates the mid-year population at 60, 60 million people. Approximately 51,1% of the population is female.
On March 5, 2020, South Africa recorded its first case of Covid-19. By the 11th, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. South Africa’s first Covid-19 related death occurred on March 27 of that year.
“As the spread of the disease occurred over time, there was a rise in the number of direct and indirect deaths in the population due to Covid-19. In conjunction, there was a rise in innovation in Covid-19 related treatment protocols, prevention measures and vaccination development over this time,” Stats SA said.
Life expectancy at birth for males declined from 62.3 in 2020 to 59.2 in 2021 (3.1 year drop) and from 68.4 in 2020 to 64.2 for females (4.2 year drop).
By 2022 there was a rise in life expectancy at birth, estimated at 60.0 years for males and 65.6 years for females.
Overall life expectancy at birth increased to 62.8 in 2022 from 61.7 at the peak of Covid related deaths in 2021.
Stats SA also reported a reduction in international migration, which they said was indicative of the Covid-19 travel restrictions and subsequent impact on migratory patterns since March 2020.
For the period 2021–2026, Gauteng and the Western Cape are estimated to experience the largest inflow of migrants of approximately, 1 443 978 and 460 489 people respectively.
Gauteng still comprises the largest share of the South African population, with approximately 16.10 million people (26.6%) living in this province. KwaZulu-Natal has the second largest population, with an estimated 11.54 million people (19,0%) living in this province.
With a population of approximately 1.31 million people (2,2%), Northern Cape remains the province with the smallest share of the South African population.
About 28.07% of the population is aged younger than 15 years and approximately 9,2% is 60 years or older.
Of those younger than 15 years of age, the majority reside in Gauteng (22.3%) and KwaZulu-Natal (21.1%).
“The proportion of elderly persons aged 60 years and older in South Africa is increasing over time and as such policies and programs to care for the needs of this growing population should be prioritised,” Stats SA said.
The Mid-year estimates 2022 does not include data from Census 2022. The census data will be released in 2023.
Cape Times