South African census figures suggest a growing number of first language Afrikaans speakers in all nine provinces, a total of 6.85 million in 2011 compared to 5.98 million a decade earlier. 2001 Namibian census reported that 11.4% of Namibians had Afrikaans (Namibian Afrikaans) as their home language.
The South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) projects that a growing majority will be Coloured Afrikaans speakers. Afrikaans speakers enjoy higher employment rates than other South African language groups, despite half a million who are unemployed.
The number of Afrikaans speakers according to the census of 2001 in South Africa by district municipal boundaries were as follows: