Wednesday, 23 September 2026

South Africa’s total fertility rate has fallen from nearly three births per woman around 2000 to about 2.1, near replacement level, with later marriage and education among key factors.

Recorded live births rose above one million in 2018 and 2019, then declined after 2020 to roughly 788,000; the reason for the earlier increase remains unclear.

Demographer Dr Pedzisai Ndagura said declining fertility reflects fewer unwanted births as contraception and pregnancy-termination services give people greater control over when to have children.

Payment failures have more than 100 possible causes; insufficient funds account for under 5%, while bank limits, incorrect PINs, fraud checks and connectivity problems also intervene.

A pending card payment can place a temporary hold on funds, explaining why an account’s available balance is lower than its actual balance until settlement is complete.