Southern Africa · Africa
Residents of South Africa sleep an average of 9h 13m per day, ranking #1 among 62 countries tracked in the Global Sleep Atlas. This is 79 minutes more than the global average of 7h 54m. In South Africa, women sleep approximately 5 minutes less than men per day.
Gender gap: -5 minutes (females sleep more)
OECD diary surveys report 115 minutes more sleep than app-based tracking for South Africa. This reflects methodological differences: diary surveys measure “time allocated to sleep,” while apps measure detected sleep states.
Different measurement methods produce different results. OECD time-use diaries capture “time in bed,” while app and wearable sources measure detected sleep states.