HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

Fri 17 July 2026:

Here’s what’s happening in South Africa today: 👇🏼

◼️ SA’s population has grown by almost 53% since 1996, but it’s ageing: The elderly recorded the fastest average annual growth between 1996 and 2022 at 3%, while the population of children aged up to 14 grew by just 0.7% a year. The country’s population-group profile has also shifted. Black Africans accounted for 81.4% of the population in 2022, up from 77% in 1996, while the white population’s share declined from 11% to 7.3%. The Indian or Asian population remained below 3% across all four censuses, while coloured South Africans accounted for 8.2% of the population in 2022.
Read more here:
https://iol.co.za/business/2026-07-15-south-africas-population-has-grown-by-almost-53-since-1996-but-its-ageing/

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◼️ Important information about severe weather coming to SA: She noted that South Africa has experienced several major El Niño events in recent decades, including those in 1991/92, 2015/16 and 2023/24. Of these, the 2015/16 event was the most severe, triggering the country’s worst drought in 35 years and pushing food price inflation to 18.4%. Despite this, she explained that not all food categories carry the same weight in South Africa’s Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Read more here:
https://businesstech.co.za/news/business-opinion/866427/important-information-about-severe-weather-coming-to-south-africa/

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◼️ Hundreds seek repatriation: Braving the cold night, Nigerians are sleeping on the pavement in front of their embassy in Pretoria as they wait to return to their home country, two weeks after the March and March national anti-migrant protests on 30 June. “Please, we need help,” said one, who fled from Ladysmith. He has been living in South Africa for 15 years. “We need another flight to go home; we don’t have anywhere to stay because they told us to go.”
Read more here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/hundreds-seek-repatriation-embassies-battle-growing-demand/

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◼️ End of spam calls questioned: New regulations require all direct marketers to register with the National Consumer Commission’s opt-out registry and to provide consumers with stronger protections against unsolicited marketing. However, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s (CDH) Tim Fletcher and Kgatlhiso Mofokeng warned that the effectiveness of these regulations in robust enforcement and in tackling spam calls from outside South Africa is in question.
Read more here:
https://dailyinvestor.com/technology/143677/end-of-an-era-for-spam-calls-in-south-africa-2/

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◼️ South Africans can have their digital games deleted by PlayStation: From that date, all new PlayStation games will be sold through the PlayStation Store and other retailers in digital formats only. Non-Sony retailers, such as BT Games, will sell redeemable game codes on their storefronts for activation through the PlayStation Store. In its announcement, Sony said the decision to stop producing physical discs was a natural direction for the corporation to adapt to consumer trends.
Read more here:
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gaming/658043-south-africans-can-have-their-digital-games-deleted-by-playstation-for-not-playing.html

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