List of South African provinces by population density
Since the election of 27 April 1994, South Africa has been divided into nine provinces. They vary widely in population density, from the highly urbanized Gauteng with nearly 700 people per square kilometre, to the mostly-desert Northern Cape with less than four people per square kilometre. The following table shows the provincial population density according to the Statistics South Africa Census.[1]
| Rank | Province | Population | Area (km²) | Density (per km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gauteng | 15,099,422 (census, 2022) | 18,178.0 | 831 |
| 2 | KwaZulu-Natal | 12,423,907 (census, 2022) | 94,361.0 | 132 |
| 3 | Mpumalanga | 5,143,324 (census, 2022) | 76,495.0 | 67.2 |
| 4 | Western Cape | 7,113,776 (est, 2021) | 129,462.0 | 54.9 |
| 5 | Limpopo | 6,572,720 (census, 2022) | 125,754.0 | 52.3 |
| 6 | Eastern Cape | 7,230,204 (census, 2022) | 168,966.0 | 42.8 |
| 7 | North West | 3,804,548 (census, 2022) | 104,882 | 36.3 |
| 8 | Free State | 2,964,412 (census, 2022) | 129,825.0 | 22.8 |
| 9 | Northern Cape | 1,355,946 (census, 2022) | 372,889.0 | 3.64 |
| South Africa | 62,027,503 (census, 2022) | 1,221,037 | 50.8 | |
Historical data
Since the creation of the current provinces in 1994 there have been four censuses, in 1996, 2001, 2011, and 2022. The results from the 2022 Census are due to be released on 10 October 2023.[2]
| Province | Census 1996[3] | Census 2001[3] | Census 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gauteng | 432.0 | 519.5 | 675.1 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 91.4 | 102.3 | 108.8 |
| Mpumalanga | 35.2 | 39.3 | 52.8 |
| Western Cape | 30.6 | 35.0 | 45.0 |
| Limpopo | 39.8 | 42.6 | 43.0 |
| Eastern Cape | 37.2 | 38.0 | 38.8 |
| North West | 28.8 | 31.5 | 33.5 |
| Free State | 20.3 | 20.9 | 21.1 |
| Northern Cape | 2.3 | 2.3 | 3.1 |
| South Africa | 33.3 | 36.8 | 42.4 |
See also
References
- ^ Africa, Statistics South. "Statistics South Africa". Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- ^ "Stats SA set to hand over Census 2022 results on 10 October 2023 | Statistics South Africa". Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ^ a b Census 2001: Census in brief (PDF). Statistics South Africa. 2003. pp. 2–6. ISBN 0-621-34293-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2011.