MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                           11 November 2022      

The global population is set to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022. The Statistician-General of South Africa, Mr Risenga Maluleke, and the Representative for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Bannet Ndyanabangi, will jointly commemorate the World at 8 Billion at a media briefing to be held on Tuesday, 15 November 2022 in Pretoria.

This is a time for celebration and a moment of reflection, a time for all countries to take stock and drive action, no matter the direction of their population growth. To achieve the 2030 Agenda – countries must anticipate and understand the way their populations are changing and develop unique responses, based on data that can help mitigate potentially negative effects and fully harness the opportunities that come with demographic change.

South Africa’s population at this time is estimated at 60,8 million as per the 2022 Mid-Year Population Estimates, making it the 25^th most populous country in the world. The National Development Plan recognizes that the country’s population has hit a “sweet spot”, with a highly favourable age distribution profile: a large youthful and working-age population and proportionally fewer very old and very young children. Through more targeted policy actions and investments to realize a youthful population that is healthy, educated, and productive with the requisite skills for a 21st century economy, South Africa can accelerate its pace towards closing the gap in addressing its challenges.

The World at 8 Billion is a moment when we must pause and reflect on the contribution of South Africa to the global population, identify key challenges that our population is facing, as well as identify emerging issues and how we are progressing as a country in relation to these.

The mark of 8 billion comes 12 years after the global population reached 7 billion. There may be more people in the world today, but equally important is the unprecedented demographic diversity we see within the global and national populations.

The briefing will be held as follows:

Date: Tuesday, 15 November 2022

Time: 10h00

Venue: Statistics South Africa Head Office (ISIbalo House), 1 Koch Street, Salvokop, Pretoria

GPS coordinates: -25.761743, 28.186824

Virtual link: Microsoft Teams

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTU4ZGY0MTgtNGYwYy00MDBmLWFlNzUtMDUwODJhNDBlNmNl%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22ca38a9e5-8ce2-41e8-a41e-647c7b50db4a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22cabb6787-8745-4076-8b9c-1b35f725ff3f%22%7d

NB: All COVID-19 health and safety protocols will be adhered to.

For RSVP and media inquiries contact:

Felicia Sithole: (Stats SA) Tel: (012) 339 2401: Cell: 076 430 0693: Email: felicias@statssa.gov.za

Ziyanda Ngoma: (UNFPA) Tel: (012 354 8424): Cell: 072 299 0868: Email: ngoma@unfpa.org

 Issued by Statistics South Africa