Fig 1: Forecast population growth by country to 2050

With South Africa at the top of an s-shaped population curve, how does this compare to forecast populations in other countries?

The United Nations World Population Prospects predicts very different demographic patterns across a range of countries. The major trend is that most of Europe is in long-term decline (except the UK) as deaths exceed births, but there is still a lot of future growth to come from certain regions across the globe, one of which is sub-Saharan Africa. However, that growth is driven not by South Africa, but by our neighbours.

Forecast population growth between 2010 and 2050 by country are ranked from lowest to highest growth below:

Country	        Forecast Population Growth (2010 to 2050)
China	        4.64%
South Africa	12.50%
United Kingdom	16.91%
United States 	27.17%
Australia	33.53%
Botswana	39.43%
Zimbabwe	75.40%
Nigeria	        82.66%
Mozambique	88.62%
Kenya	        109.02%
Uganda	        170.06%

Slower population growth points to slower property price growth. Massive opportunities exist in countries like Kenya and Uganda.