South Africa recorded 2,103 births by girls aged between 10 and 14 years in 2024, with KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape topping the list, according to new Stats SA data.
These births formed part of the 98,351 births recorded to mothers aged 19 and younger, underscoring ongoing concerns around early and unintended pregnancies among adolescents.
“A total of 98,351 births occurred to mothers aged 19 and younger. Of these, 2,103 were mothers between the ages of 10 and 14 at the time of giving birth,” said Stats SA.
“Provincially the highest number of births in this age group were 438 in KwaZulu-Natal, followed by 349 in Eastern Cape 349.”
The broader birth data shows that women aged 20–34 accounted for almost 70% of all births in the country, making up 68.4% of recorded live births in 2024.
Stats SA noted an improvement in the rate of early birth registrations. “About 83.2% of births were registered within 30 days of occurrence, compared to 80.7% in 2023, indicating an increase of 2.5%,” it said.
In 2024 the most popular first name among baby girls was Onalerona while among boys Lethabo was dominant. Junior and Precious were common second names for boys and girls respectively. Dlamini, followed by Ndlovu and Nkosi, were still the top three most common surnames amongst babies born and registered in 2024
— Stats SA.
Overall, the country recorded 863,858 births in 2024. Of these, 787,933 (91.2%) occurred and were registered within the same year, while 75,925 (8.8%) were births from previous years that were registered late.
Male babies accounted for 396,845 of the 2024 births registered in the same year, while 391,088 were female.
Geographically, the two most populous provinces, Gauteng with 22.6% and KwaZulu-Natal with 21.0%, recorded the highest share of births.
However, when population size is factored in, the highest proportion of births relative to population were recorded in Limpopo and the Northern Cape with 1.6%, while the lowest was seen in the North West, Western Cape and Gauteng with 1.1%.
Births were most common during March, May and April, accounting for 8.9%, while the lowest number of births (7.35) were recorded in November.
Stats SA explained that the release covers birth registrations received from the department of home affairs over a 14-month period from January 2024 to February 2025, including late registrations from 2023 and earlier.
“This statistical release presents information on recorded live births in South Africa, based on information received from the department of home affairs. It focuses on current birth registrations and occurrences of live births for 2024 … as well as late birth registrations,” the agency said.
The report also revealed naming trends among new parents.
“In 2024 the most popular first name among baby girls was Onalerona while among boys Lethabo was dominant. Junior and Precious were common second names for boys and girls respectively. Dlamini, followed by Ndlovu and Nkosi, were still the top three most common surnames amongst babies born and registered in 2024,” said Stats SA.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.