South Africa

National Assembly

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Parliament
Chamber name
National Assembly
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5
Suspended parliament
No information available

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1994
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
African Group

Speaker

Official title
Speaker of the National Assembly
Speaker
Angela Thokozile Didiza (Female)
Date of birth: 02 Jun 1965
Term
14 Jun 2024
Additional information

Elected on 14 June 2024.

Speaker terms

No information available

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary to Parliament
Secretary General
Xolile George (Male)
Term
15 Jun 2022
Notes

Appointed on 15 June 2022.

Official title
Secretary of the National Assembly
Secretary General
Masibulele Xaso (Male)
Term
01 Mar 2013
Notes

Appointed on 1 March 2013.

Members

Statutory number of members
400
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
400
Current number of members
391
Men
216
Women
175
Percentage of women
44.8%
Statutory number of members per country
490
Population (in thousands)
63,212
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
129,004

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
No information available
Youngest member
Cleo Wilskut (Female)
Youngest member (years)
20
Oldest member
No information available
Oldest member (years)
No information available
Number of members, by age (2024-06)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 6 42 34 28 57 50 5 0 0 222
Female 1 4 28 30 22 51 39 3 0 0 178
Totals per age interval 1 10 70 64 50 108 89 8 0 0 400
Total <= 45: 145 Total >= 46: 255
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
2.8% 1.5% 1.3%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
20.3% 12% 8.3%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
36.3% 21% 15.8%
Members for whom data is available
400
(2024)

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: Political party quota - 'the provision of a quota of not less than fifty percent of women in all elected structures.

Sources: ANC Constitution, Article 6(1)

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No