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- 26.8-million South Africans were registered to vote in the 2019 election
- Since 2009, the number of people casting their vote has hovered around 18-million
- Voter turnout at the last election was 66%, the lowest in 20 years
Every election cycle, an average of 1-million additional South Africans register to vote. Many of them are young, first-time registrants.
Despite this increase in registered voters, the number of people who head to the polls has been around 18-million since 2009.
Young voters aged 18 to 19, with their freshly issued ID cards, usually record a high turnout (80%). But it’s a different story for 20- to 29-year-olds. In 2019, only 56% of registered voters in this age group voted, which was 10% below the national average. Theirs was one of the lowest turnouts, with only the over-80s lower at 50%.
— 23 November, 2023Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for more charts like this
