The death toll from the unrest that followed the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma has risen from 276, announced on Wednesday, to 337.
Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that more people had died from injuries sustained during the violence.
The minister said that 213 murder cases were being investigated.
Thousands of businesses were looted in the riots last week that mainly affected the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
It was a level of violence unprecedented in post-apartheid South Africa.
