ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the socio-demographic profile of the youth in the country. The essence of this chapter is the presentation of the country’s youth as a heterogeneous demographic category by showing their differences in terms of gender, age, race/ethnicity, residence, and their differential access to the social and economic opportunities in the country. Indeed, South Africa’s youth are from varied historical, cultural, and socioeconomic conditions under which the country’s young people live. Differences in age structure with regard to the youth have been highlighted to be reflective of the fertility preferences of the different ethnic backgrounds of the youth, with black African and coloured youth having levels of fertility compared to Asian and white youth.
