Kenya vs South Africa
Kenya vs South Africa: Net migration rate
Net migration rate in 2023: -0.2 per 1,000 people in Kenya and 3.6 per 1,000 people in South Africa, by UN estimates. In 2023 the value was higher in South Africa, by 3.8 per 1,000 people.
per 1,000 people · UN
What the numbers say
- South Africa has been higher since 2017, when it overtook Kenya.
- In 2023, Kenya ranked 123 and South Africa ranked 51 of 229 countries, counting from the highest.
- The UN projection (medium variant) puts Kenya at -0.9 per 1,000 people and South Africa at 2.1 per 1,000 people in 2100.
Every year
per 1,000 people · UN
| Year | Kenya | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | -0.2 | 3.6 |
| 2022 | -0.2 | 3.7 |
| 2021 | -1 | 7.5 |
| 2020 | -0.3 | 6.1 |
| 2019 | -1.2 | 5.6 |
| 2018 | -2.3 | 5.4 |
| 2017 | -1.4 | 6 |
| 2016 | -0.6 | -15.4 |
| 2015 | -2 | 11.3 |
| 2014 | -1.6 | 4.9 |
| 2013 | -1.3 | 4.2 |
| 2012 | -1 | 4.9 |
| 2011 | -1 | 1.2 |
| 2010 | -0.5 | 1.3 |
| 2009 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| 2008 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| 2007 | -0.3 | 0.7 |
| 2006 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| 2005 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| 2004 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
| 2003 | 0.7 | 1.4 |
| 2002 | 0.3 | 1 |
| 2001 | 1.7 | -1.3 |
| 2000 | 0.2 | -2.9 |
| 1999 | -0.4 | -2.7 |
| 1998 | -2.4 | -1.8 |
| 1997 | -2.9 | -2.2 |
| 1996 | -2.9 | -4.3 |
| 1995 | -2.8 | -2.2 |
| 1994 | -1.6 | -6.1 |
| 1993 | -2.4 | 4.5 |
| 1992 | -1.8 | -1.7 |
| 1991 | -2.5 | -0.9 |
| 1990 | -0.5 | 6.4 |
| 1989 | -1.1 | 6.5 |
| 1988 | -1.5 | 6.4 |
| 1987 | -2.4 | 6.2 |
| 1986 | -2.7 | 6.5 |
| 1985 | -1.8 | 7 |
| 1984 | -1.8 | 8.6 |
| 1983 | -1.3 | 9.5 |
| 1982 | -2.5 | 9.3 |
| 1981 | -3.2 | 9.2 |
| 1980 | -2.5 | 8.7 |
| 1979 | -3.6 | 2 |
| 1978 | -4.1 | 2.2 |
| 1977 | -4 | 2.4 |
| 1976 | -6.5 | 1 |
| 1975 | -5.3 | 1.5 |
| 1974 | -4.8 | 1.5 |
| 1973 | -4.1 | 1.7 |
| 1972 | -4 | 1.6 |
| 1971 | -4.2 | 1.4 |
| 1970 | -1.1 | 2.8 |
| 1969 | 0 | 3.4 |
| 1968 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
| 1967 | 0.5 | 4 |
| 1966 | 0.2 | 3.9 |
| 1965 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| 1964 | 0.5 | 4.1 |
| 1963 | 0.5 | 4.1 |
| 1962 | 0.5 | 4 |
| 1961 | 0.5 | 3.4 |
| 1960 | 0.3 | 1.1 |
| 1959 | -0.3 | 0.3 |
| 1958 | -2.3 | -0.9 |
| 1957 | -0.8 | -0.2 |
| 1956 | -0.7 | -0.1 |
| 1955 | -0.7 | -0.2 |
| 1954 | -0.6 | -0.2 |
| 1953 | -0.9 | -0.4 |
| 1952 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| 1951 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| 1950 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
UN projection (medium variant) · 2024–2100
| Year | Kenya | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | -0.4-2.3–1.4 | 2.6-5.3–9.8 |
| 2025 | -0.5-3–1.9 | 2.3-5.9–10.1 |
| 2026 | -0.6-3.7–2.1 | 2-6.3–9.5 |
| 2027 | -0.7-4.1–2.4 | 2.2-5.5–10.2 |
| 2028 | -0.8-4.3–2.4 | 2.3-5.9–10.5 |
| 2029 | -0.8-4.7–2.7 | 2.3-6.3–10.1 |
| 2030 | -0.8-4.5–2.6 | 2.1-5.9–10.6 |
| 2031 | -0.8-4.6–2.8 | 2.2-5.9–10.6 |
| 2032 | -0.9-4.9–2.8 | 2.2-6.3–10.3 |
| 2033 | -0.9-5–2.9 | 2.1-6–10.1 |
| 2034 | -1-4.9–3.1 | 2.2-6.5–10.3 |
| 2035 | -1-5.1–3.2 | 2.3-6.1–10.4 |
| 2036 | -1-5.1–3.3 | 2.2-6.2–9.6 |
| 2037 | -1-5.2–3.2 | 2.3-6–9.9 |
| 2038 | -0.9-5.1–3.1 | 2.1-5.8–10.1 |
| 2039 | -1-5.3–3.2 | 2-6.4–10.2 |
| 2040 | -0.9-5.3–3.5 | 2.1-6.3–10.2 |
| 2041 | -0.9-5.5–3.5 | 2.2-6.5–10.5 |
| 2042 | -0.9-5.3–3.3 | 2.2-6.4–10.9 |
| 2043 | -1-5.4–3.6 | 2.1-6–10.5 |
| 2044 | -1-5.5–3.4 | 2.1-6–10.4 |
| 2045 | -1-5.5–3.4 | 2.1-7–10.3 |
| 2046 | -1-5.2–3.4 | 2.3-5.5–10.9 |
| 2047 | -1-5.2–3.3 | 2.3-6.2–10.6 |
| 2048 | -1-5.5–3.4 | 2.1-5.9–10.4 |
| 2049 | -1-5.2–3.5 | 2.3-5.7–10.5 |
| 2050 | -1-5.4–3.8 | 2.3-6.2–11.1 |
| 2051 | -1-5.5–3.7 | 2.5-5.5–10.9 |
| 2052 | -1-5.3–3.9 | 2.2-5.9–10.8 |
| 2053 | -1-5.5–3.7 | 2.2-6.4–10.3 |
| 2054 | -1.1-5.6–3.6 | 2.3-6.1–10.2 |
| 2055 | -1-5.6–3.8 | 2.3-6.2–10.5 |
| 2056 | -1-5.6–3.6 | 2.2-5.9–10.1 |
| 2057 | -0.9-5.6–3.8 | 2.3-6.6–10.3 |
| 2058 | -0.9-5.9–3.6 | 2.4-6.3–11.1 |
| 2059 | -0.9-5.7–3.7 | 2.3-6.6–11 |
| 2060 | -0.9-5.5–3.3 | 2.3-5.8–10.3 |
| 2061 | -0.8-5.8–3.7 | 2.2-6.5–10.5 |
| 2062 | -0.8-5.7–3.9 | 2.3-6.2–10.3 |
| 2063 | -0.9-5.6–3.6 | 2.4-6.5–10.8 |
| 2064 | -0.9-5.6–3.7 | 2.3-6.5–10.6 |
| 2065 | -1-5.6–3.8 | 2.1-6.6–10.5 |
| 2066 | -0.9-5.6–3.7 | 2.2-6.1–10.5 |
| 2067 | -0.9-5.7–3.9 | 2.2-6.2–10.3 |
| 2068 | -0.9-5.8–3.8 | 2.1-6–10.4 |
| 2069 | -0.9-5.9–3.6 | 2.2-6.5–10.4 |
| 2070 | -0.9-5.5–3.8 | 2.5-5.9–11.1 |
| 2071 | -0.9-5.9–3.6 | 2.5-5.8–10.5 |
| 2072 | -0.9-5.7–3.4 | 2.1-6.6–10 |
| 2073 | -1-6–3.4 | 2.1-5.9–10 |
| 2074 | -1-6–3.5 | 2.2-6.9–11.1 |
| 2075 | -1-6–3.4 | 2.1-5.9–10.5 |
| 2076 | -0.9-5.9–3.3 | 2-6.7–9.9 |
| 2077 | -1-6–3.3 | 2.2-6.4–10.5 |
| 2078 | -1-6.5–3.4 | 2.3-5.9–10.5 |
| 2079 | -0.9-5.8–3.4 | 2.2-6.5–11 |
| 2080 | -0.9-5.8–3.5 | 2.3-6.8–10.5 |
| 2081 | -0.9-5.8–3.7 | 2.2-6.1–10.6 |
| 2082 | -0.9-5.8–3.5 | 2.2-6.4–10.3 |
| 2083 | -0.9-5.8–3.6 | 2.2-6.2–10.3 |
| 2084 | -0.9-5.7–3.5 | 2-6.5–10.6 |
| 2085 | -0.9-5.8–3.5 | 1.9-6.8–9.6 |
| 2086 | -0.9-5.8–3.6 | 2.1-6.3–10.8 |
| 2087 | -0.8-6–3.6 | 2.1-6.5–10.4 |
| 2088 | -0.8-5.8–3.7 | 2.1-6.6–9.9 |
| 2089 | -0.8-5.7–3.8 | 2.1-6.6–10.5 |
| 2090 | -0.8-5.6–3.7 | 2-7.1–10.2 |
| 2091 | -0.8-5.9–3.8 | 2.2-6.4–10.8 |
| 2092 | -0.9-5.8–3.5 | 2-6.9–10.4 |
| 2093 | -0.9-5.8–3.5 | 2-7.9–10.4 |
| 2094 | -0.9-5.9–3.7 | 2-7.1–10.4 |
| 2095 | -0.8-6.1–3.7 | 1.9-6.5–10.1 |
| 2096 | -0.8-6–3.6 | 1.8-6.6–10.1 |
| 2097 | -0.9-6.4–3.6 | 1.8-7.4–10.4 |
| 2098 | -0.8-5.9–3.4 | 2-6.5–10.1 |
| 2099 | -0.9-6.1–3.6 | 2-5.7–11 |
| 2100 | -0.9-6.3–3.4 | 2.1-6.2–10.8 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- People moving in minus people moving out in a year, per 1,000 residents; below zero, more left than arrived.
- Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects 2024.
- The dashed line is the UN projection (medium variant), a scenario rather than a forecast; the band is its 95% prediction interval.
- Ranks count the 229 countries with a value in 2023, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Kenya vs South Africa
Health
- Life expectancyKenya: 63.7 years in 2023South Africa: 66.1 years in 2023
- Child mortalityKenya: 3.9 per 100 live births in 2024South Africa: 3.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityKenya: 29.7 per 1,000 live births in 2023South Africa: 27.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionKenya: 3.51% in 2017South Africa: 3.75% in 2017
- Suicide rateKenya: 11.1 per 100,000 people in 2017South Africa: 11.2 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationKenya: 55.3 million people in 2023South Africa: 63.2 million people in 2023
- Population growthKenya: 1.97% a year in 2023South Africa: 1.32% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateKenya: 3.21 births per woman in 2023South Africa: 2.22 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationKenya: 32.2% in 2025South Africa: 63.8% in 2025
- Median ageKenya: 19.5 years in 2023South Africa: 28.2 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overKenya: 2.9% in 2023South Africa: 6.5% in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingKenya: 1.07% of GDP in 2025South Africa: 0.74% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsKenya: $1.36B in 2025South Africa: $3B in 2025
- Military spending per personKenya: $26 in 2025South Africa: $49 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingKenya: 4.6% of government spending in 2025South Africa: 2.2% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelKenya: 24,000 people in 2020South Africa: 89,000 people in 2020
- National powerKenya: 0.23% of world capability in 2022South Africa: 0.55% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersKenya: 0.11% of the labour force in 2020South Africa: 0.4% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsKenya: 117 million TIV in 2025South Africa: 30 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsKenya: 2 million TIV in 1993South Africa: 115 million TIV in 2025