Census enumerator Tshepo Mogotsi helps Munsieville township resident in Krugersdorp,Oumakie Mangole fill in the forms during census 2011.Census want to count a total of 14 million people country wide by the 31st of October. Picture:Paballo Thekiso
President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday receive South Africa's Census 2022 national results from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA).
Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke is expected to officially hand over the report to him on Tuesday with the president expected to accept the announcement of the results of the the latest population and housing count of the country at the Union Buildings.
Census 2022, according to the Presidency, is the fourth population and housing count in post-apartheid South Africa. The first took place in 1996, with subsequent censuses being conducted in 2001 and 2011.
The next census was scheduled for 2006, but due technical ad administrative challenges, StatsSA was not in a position to conduct a successful census. This was then moved to 2011. The countrywide survey is aimed at providing comprehensive data on the country’s population for improved planning and to aid development.
The current population and housing survey was conducted in February 2022 and will provide comprehensive data on population size, demographic trends, and other service delivery-related information.
According to Census Project Director Calvin Molongoana, the last census study was done in 2011, making this latest study the first in over a decade.
Molongoana said that the country was scheduled to conduct the fourth democratic study in October 2021, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this could not be done.
Stats SA will be following the trend adopted by many countries and data will be released in phases.
The president’s office on Sunday said for phase one, the Census 2022 launch will only cover reports and indicators at the national, provincial, district and local municipality levels.
“Census data is an important data source used for planning and evidence-based decision making by government and various sectors of society.
“The census population count provides data on the demographic, economic and social make-up of the country. Furthermore, findings from censuses are key in tracking service delivery programmes over time," the Presidency said in a statement.
It has been reported that, as of 2022, South Africa's population increased to 60.6 million inhabitants in total, of which the majority (roughly 49.1 million) were black Africans.
The Asian or Indian population is said to be approximately 1.56 million people overall.
When it comes to regional population count, Gauteng remains the most populous province with a headcount of nearly 16 million people.