The latest statistics from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) reveal that newspapers and magazines are rapidly dying in South Africa.
A massive decline in circulation figures has taken places across the board, and follows several years of decreasing readership of print publications.
The latest ABC statistics follow a recent article by Naspers chairman Koos Bekker, in which he stated that print is a dying medium and digital media is now the platform of choice for South Africans.
“In the future, news will increasingly be delivered electronically,” said Bekker.
Massive declines
The large drop in magazine and newspaper readership in South Africa is laid bare when looking at the latest figures released by the ABC.
The ABC Q2 2024 report shows a bleak picture for magazines, and daily, weekly, and weekend newspapers.
The tables below detail the latest 2024 circulation figures – and compares them against circulation figures from 2014.
Magazines
| Title | 2014 Circulation | 2024 Circulation | Change |
| Huisgenoot | 270,772 | 81,508 | -69.89% |
| Tuis/Home | 94,415 | 54,469 | -42.30% |
| Sarie | 104,925 | 50,902 | -51.48% |
| Weg!/go! | 75,488 | 40,851 | -45.88% |
| Kuier | 121,512 | 40,148 | -66.95% |
| You | 153,709 | 38,349 | -75.05% |
| Car | 74,204 | 32,409 | -56.32% |
| Rooi Rose | 92,848 | 27,169 | -70.73% |
| The Gardener/Die Tuiner | 24,206 | 26,676 | +10.20% |
| Fairlady | 55,745 | 24,683 | -55.72% |
Daily Newspapers
| Title | 2014 Circulation | 2024 Circulation | Change |
| Die Burger | 57,423 | 25,668 | -55.30% |
| The Citizen | 57,096 | 20,786 | -63.59% |
| The Star | 96,029 | 20,124 | -79.04% |
| Isolezwe | 104,860 | 19,890 | -81.03% |
| Beeld | 59,544 | 18,865 | -68.31% |
| Sowetan | 99,529 | 17,141 | -82.77% |
| Business Day | 30,901 | 13,092 | -57.63% |
| The Herald | 22,987 | 11,407 | -50.37% |
| Daily Sun | 274,165 | 11,046 | -95.97% |
| Daily Dispatch | 26,915 | 10,553 | -60.79% |
Weekly / Weekend Newspapers
| Title | 2014 Circulation | 2024 Circulation | Change |
| Sunday Times | 390,738 | 60,594 | -84.49% |
| Rapport | 175,552 | 55,670 | -68.28% |
| Soccer Laduma | 295,964 | 36,528 | -87.65% |
| Die Burger (Sat) | 71,141 | 34,011 | -52.19% |
| Ilanga | 93,914 | 24,638 | -73.76% |
| Beeld (Sat) | 53,408 | 23,219 | -56.52% |
| Sunday Tribune | 68,920 | 15,579 | -77.39% |
| Sunday World | 106,812 | 14,497 | -86.42% |
From print to digital
As seen in the figures shared by the ABC, newspapers and magazines in South Africa have experienced huge drops in circulation – and by extension, readership.
In multiple cases, the 10-year circulation performance declines have been as drastic as over -80%.
At the same time, there has been a rapid increase in South Africans reading news online – with news websites seeing massive readership growth in recent years.
This includes the biggest digital news publications in the country – News24, BusinessTech, IOL, Daily Maverick, and MyBroadband – all of which are read by millions of South Africans every month.
