Botswana vs South Africa: Annual death rates at different ages
Botswana
29.11 deaths per 1,000 people
in 2023
South Africa
28.55 deaths per 1,000 people
in 2023
Botswana rank
50th
South Africa rank
51st
Annual death rates at different ages over time
- Botswana
- South Africa
How they compare
Botswana currently reports 29.11 deaths per 1,000 people against 28.55 deaths per 1,000 people in South Africa, a difference of 0.56 deaths per 1,000 people.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was South Africa ahead.
Botswana ranks 50th and South Africa ranks 51st of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Botswana averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Botswana | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 126.41 deaths per 1,000 people | 131.2 deaths per 1,000 people | 4.79 deaths per 1,000 people | South Africa |
| 1960s | 99.95 deaths per 1,000 people | 99.69 deaths per 1,000 people | 0.254 deaths per 1,000 people | Botswana |
| 1970s | 72.02 deaths per 1,000 people | 83.75 deaths per 1,000 people | 11.72 deaths per 1,000 people | South Africa |
| 1980s | 44.36 deaths per 1,000 people | 59.87 deaths per 1,000 people | 15.51 deaths per 1,000 people | South Africa |
| 1990s | 48.43 deaths per 1,000 people | 49.56 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.13 deaths per 1,000 people | South Africa |
| 2000s | 51.79 deaths per 1,000 people | 50.43 deaths per 1,000 people | 1.36 deaths per 1,000 people | Botswana |
| 2010s | 38.1 deaths per 1,000 people | 28.93 deaths per 1,000 people | 9.18 deaths per 1,000 people | Botswana |
| 2020s | 30.4 deaths per 1,000 people | 27.49 deaths per 1,000 people | 2.92 deaths per 1,000 people | Botswana |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher annual death rates at different ages, Botswana or South Africa?
- Botswana, at 29.11 deaths per 1,000 people against 28.55 deaths per 1,000 people in South Africa as of 2023.
- What is the difference in annual death rates at different ages between Botswana and South Africa?
- 0.56 deaths per 1,000 people, with Botswana ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and South Africa?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
- How do Botswana and South Africa rank globally for annual death rates at different ages?
- Botswana ranks 50th and South Africa ranks 51st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Annual death rates at different ages. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Death rate, calculated as the number of deaths divided by the average number of people alive during the interval.