Population during each president's tenure

Every president since 1991, ranked by how population changed from their first day in office. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.

#	President	In office	Total	Per year	Chart
1	Jacob Zuma	9 May 2009 – 15 Feb 2018	+14.3% 2008 → 2017	+1.5%/yr
2	Cyril Ramaphosa	15 Feb 2018 – now	+12.0% 2017 → 2026	+1.3%/yr
3	Thabo Mbeki	14 Jun 1999 – 25 Sep 2008	+11.9% 1998 → 2008	+1.1%/yr
4	Nelson Mandela	10 May 1994 – 14 Jun 1999	+6.8% 1993 → 1998	+1.3%/yr

Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last count complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that count had no data, or because the period cut it); Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in %; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. thousands, mid-year estimate · Statistics South Africa, mid-year population estimates (P0302), the provinces' sum, from 2002; the World Bank's (UN) estimates before, rescaled to 2002 · South Africa data · as of Oct 2026.