South Africa’s children
Children living in South Africa, by orphan-hood status, 2020.
Father dead, mother alive: 1,763,000 8,6%
Both parents dead 620,000 3,0%
Both parents alive 17,582,000 85,8%
Mother dead, father alive 531,000 2,6%
Source: Statistics South Africa (2021) General Household Survey 2020. Pretoria: Stats SA. Analysis by Katharine Hall, Children’s Institute, UCT.
Orphaned children
An orphan is defined as a child under the age of 18 years whose mother, father or both biological parents have died (including those whose living status is reported as unknown, but excluding those whose living status is unspecified). For the purpose of this indicator, orphans are defined in three mutually exclusive categories:
- A maternal orphan is a child whose mother has died but
whose father is alive. - A paternal orphan is a child whose father has died but whose
mother is alive. - A double orphan is a child whose mother and father have
both died.
The total number of orphans is the sum of maternal, paternal and double orphans. In 2020, there were 2.9 million orphans in South Africa. This includes children without a living biological mother, father or both parents, and is equivalent to 14% of all children in South Africa. The majority (61%) of all orphans in South Africa are paternal orphans (with living mothers).
In December 2020, 216,174 children in South Africa were receiving the foster care grant.
