Back to Africa Check

How many people does one police officer serve in South Africa?

There is one police officer – excluding administrative staff – for every 408 people. The ratio is based on Statistics South Africa's mid-year population estimates (60,14 million in 2021) and the number of non-administrative police (147,357) given in the South African Police Service's 2020/21 annual report.

More facts

For reading our fact-checks!

Did you know that our work is free to read and share? Support our work to continue reading.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Support independent fact-checking in Africa.