South Sudan Population

Quick facts about the population of South Sudan

Current population (as of Monday, June 21, 2021)

11,803,538

Population rank

81 (0.15% of world population)

Total area

619,745 km2 (239,285 mi2)

Population density

19.0 per km2 (49.3 people/mi2)

Sex ratio

1.02 (5,947,675 men to 5,857,181 women)

Median age

18.6 years

Life expectancy

55.1 years (54.1 - men, 56.0 - women)

Literacy

31.9 %

(Population figures are estimates by Countrymeters based on the latest United Nations data)

South Sudan population 2021

During 2021 South Sudan population is projected to increase by 472,438 people and reach 12,054,642 in the beginning of 2022. The natural increase is expected to be positive, as the number of births will exceed the number of deaths by 293,493. If external migration will remain on the previous year level, the population will be increased by 178,945 due to the migration reasons. It means that the number of people who move into South Sudan (to which they are not native) in order to settle there as permanent residents (immigrants) will prevail over the number of people who leave the country to settle permanently in another country (emigrants).

Population change rates in 2021

According to our estimations, daily change rates of South Sudan population in 2021 will be the following:

• 1,183 live births average per day (49.30 in an hour)
• 379 deaths average per day (15.80 in an hour)
• 490 immigrants average per day (20.43 in an hour)

The population of South Sudan will be increasing by 1,294 persons daily in 2021.

Demographics of South Sudan 2020

As of 1 January 2021, the population of South Sudan was estimated to be 11,582,204 people. This is an increase of 4.08 % (453,923 people) compared to population of 11,128,281 the year before. In 2020 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 281,991. Due to external migration, the population increased by 171,932. The sex ratio of the total population was 1.015 (1,015 males per 1,000 females) which is higher than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1,016 males to 1,000 females as of 2020.

Below are the key figures for South Sudan population in 2020:

• 414,974 live births
• 132,983 deaths
• Natural increase: 281,991 people
• Net migration: 171,932 people
• 5,848,440 males as of 31 December 2020
• 5,733,764 females as of 31 December 2020

South Sudan population density

South Sudan population density is 18.7 people per square kilometer (48.4/mi²) as of June 2021. Density of population is calculated as permanently settled population of South Sudan divided by total area of the country. Total area is the sum of land and water areas within international boundaries and coastlines of South Sudan. The total area of South Sudan is 619,745 km² (239,285 mi²) according to the United Nations Statistics Division .

Religion in South Sudan

Religion	Number of followers	Percentage of total population
Christianity	7,141,140	60.5 %
Folk or traditional religions	3,883,364	32.9 %
Islam	720,016	6.1 %
Religiously Unaffiliated	59,018	0.5 %

Source: Pew Research Center. The Global Religious Landscape .

Number of followers estimated by Countrymeters (Monday, June 21 2021).

South Sudan age structure

As of the beginning of 2021 according to our estimates South Sudan had the following population age distribution:

45.9

51.5

2.6

	- percentage of population under 15
	- percentage of population between 15 and 64 years old
	- percentage of population 65+

In absolute figures (estimate):

• 5,321,559 young people under 15 years old ( 2,716,838 males / 2,604,722 females)
• 5,961,129 persons between 15 and 64 years old ( 2,996,779 males / 2,964,349 females)
• 299,516 persons above 64 years old ( 138,523 males / 160,993 females)

We prepared a simplified model of the population distribution pyramid which is broken down into 3 main age groups. The groups are the same as we used above: population under 15, between 15 and 64 and population which is over 65 year old.

65+

15-64

0-14

male

female

Note: The pyramid provided is not corresponding to data given above because the age groups have different number of years.

As we can see the South Sudan population pyramid has an expanding type. This type of pyramid is common for developing countries with high birth and death rates. Relatively short life expectancy, as well as low level of education and poor health care are also describe such kind of population age distribution model.

Source: The estimation data for section "South Sudan age structure" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Age dependency ratio

Dependency ratio of population is a ratio of people who are generally not in the labor force (the dependents) to workforce of a country (the productive part of population). The dependent part includes the population under 15 years old and people aged 65 and over. The productive part of population accordingly consists of population between 15 and 64 years.

This ratio shows the pressure on productive population produced by the dependent part of population.

The total dependency ratio of population in South Sudan is 94.3 %.

As we can see the dependent part of population is comparable to the working part. It means that each working person in South Sudan must provide goods for himself and cover expenditure on one child or aged person additionally. The value of 94.3 % shows that the pressure on productive population in South Sudan is very high.

Child dependency ratio

Child dependency ratio is a ratio of people below working age (under 15) to workforce of a country.

Child dependency ratio in South Sudan is 89.3 %.

Aged dependency ratio

Aged dependency ratio is a ratio of people above working age (65+) to workforce of a country.

Aged dependency ratio in South Sudan is 5 %.

Source: The estimation data for section "South Sudan age dependency ratio" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth is one of the most important demographic indicator. It shows the number of years a newborn infant would live assuming that birth and death rates will remain at the same level during the whole lifetime.

Total life expectancy (both sexes) at birth for South Sudan is 55.1 years.
This is below the average life expectancy at birth of the global population which is about 71 years (according to Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations).

Male life expectancy at birth is 54.1 years.
Female life expectancy at birth is 56 years.

Literacy of population

According to our estimates 2,002,909 persons or 31.99% of adult population (aged 15 years and above) in South Sudan are able to read and write. Accordingly about 4,257,735 adults are illiterate.

Literacy rate for adult male population is 38.62% (1,210,979 persons). 1,924,323 are illiterate.
Literacy rate for adult female population is 25.34% (791,930 persons). 2,333,412 are illiterate.

Youth literacy rates are 46.89% and 41.74% for males and females accordingly. The overall youth literacy rate is 44.33%. Youth literacy rate definition covers the population between the ages of 15 to 24 years.

Source: The estimation data for section "South Sudan population literacy" is based on the latest data published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics (retrieved March 13, 2016) .