Due to limited coverage of vital registration in most African countries, censuses and surveys constitute the
primary sources for demographic information. Estimating demographic parameters from African censuses often
poses a challenge. South Africa has a long history and high coverage of vital registration but censuses and
surveys remain the principal sources of demographic information. The purpose of this study is to estimate
demographic parameters from the 2011 South Africa census using various demographic models. The results
indicate female mean age at first marriage of 26 years, infant mortality rate of 60 per thousand live births (both
sexes), life expectancy at birth of 55 years (both sexes), total fertility rate of 2.7 in 2011 and Gauteng as the
province with the highest volume of net migration in absolute terms. Despite some weaknesses in the 2011
census data, it is a rich data source for demographic estimation.