Here is a good reason why statistics should rather be left to the professionals. A new report by the South African Institute of Race Relations “revealed” that South Africa’s white population was declining by about 0.3% every five years. The City Press then “extrapolated” the figures and concluded that whites would be extinct by the year 2161. This proved big news over the weekend across social networks, with sentiments such as “whites are the new endangered species” floating around all too casually.

The decline has been attributed by the institute to lowered fertility rates affecting the middle class across all population groups, as well to continued white emigration. The study predicted that by 2025, the black African population would have grown by about five million from the current level of 40 million. Over the same period the white population would have declined by 350 000 to a level of just more than four million. The Indian population would decline marginally, while the coloured population would grow by just under 600 000.

Thankfully Frans Cronje, the deputy chief executive of the institute, at least admitted that this is not an exact science by saying that “South Africa’s population statistics may be off by as much as 10 million.”

[Source: News24]