In this chapter, we investigate two sets of empirical questions about biological fathers in South Africa.1 First, how many and which men are fathers? Second, we ask what proportion of children, and specifically children aged 15 years and younger,2 do not live with their fathers or have fathers who are deceased? In addressing these questions, we examine and evaluate possible sources of data in South Africa, and we show why the available national data to count and describe fathers are limited. It is possible to arrive at only crude estimates to answer the first question and we can say little about how measures and characteristics of fathers have changed over time. The collection of this kind of information in the future would enrich our understanding of fertility trends. It would also result in the recognition of men, and thereby the promotion of the role of men, as parents (Morrell, Posel & Devey, 2003). The data available permit a more comprehensive, albeit still qualified, response to our second question. We find that between 1993 and 2002, a large and growing proportion of children in South Africa did not have either a father who was alive or a father who was a resident member of their household. In 2002, children were more likely to be living apart from their biological father than they were to be living with him. Our study also highlights clear differences across population groups: of all children in South Africa, African children are the most likely to be living without their fathers, either because their fathers are living elsewhere or because their fathers are deceased.