Population & Demographics¶
District-level population data by race and urban/rural status, from South African population censuses (1904-1996).
Key Distinction: Two Data Types¶
| Type | Location | Format | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate distributions | population_distributions/ |
Stata .dta | District-level counts by race, year â for panel analysis |
| Census microdata | raw_archives/04_population/censuses/ |
Stata .dta | Individual-level records from DataFirst â not redistributed |
For most panel work, you want the aggregate distributions (one row per district-year).
Aggregate Distributions (population_distributions/)¶
| File | Description |
|---|---|
populations.dta |
Main panel: population by district, race, urban/rural |
bw_distributions*.dta |
Black/white distributions |
cdistributions.dta |
District-level distributions |
maize_suit.dta |
Maize suitability by district (geographic control) |
Coverage: 1904-1996 (varies by race and area)
1970 Population Weights¶
| File | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
district_black_rural_share_1970.csv |
population_census/ |
Black rural population share by district |
Derived from the 1970 census 5% sample. Formula: popshareblackrural = btot_rur / tot_ (black rural / total population). Used as regression weights in the 1974 shock analysis.
Census Microdata¶
Individual-level records, distributed by DataFirst (University of Cape Town). They are held for research under DataFirst's terms and are not redistributed; see Licensing & Access.
| Year | Files held | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3 | Separate files for Whites, Coloureds and Indians/Asians |
| 1970 | 4 | African 5% sample, dwellings, households, and a further file; includes district crosswalks |
| 1980 | 9 | Provincial files (PG1âPG8) and Bophuthatswana, about 2 GB. Caution: homeland exclusions; the district labels in the file run two codes off and must be realigned before matching |
| 1985 | 9 | Area-based files |
| 1991 | 8 | Provinces and homelands (Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Venda) |
| 1996 | 3 | Household, person and merged files |
Sample fractions are as documented by DataFirst for each release; this archive has not recorded them for every year.
1980 Census Coverage
By 1980, "independent" homelands (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda) were treated as foreign countries and excluded from enumeration. Black population figures for 1980 are unreliable in homeland areas. Use 1970 and 1991 for cross-temporal comparisons.
Provenance¶
- Source: South African Population Censuses, published by Department of Statistics / CSS
- Microdata: DataFirst, University of Cape Town, under its user agreement; not redistributed
- Aggregate distributions: Compiled from published census tables; who compiled the Stata files, and when, is not recorded