List of South African provinces by population

Since the election of 27 April 1994, South Africa has been divided into nine provinces. They vary widely in population, from the mostly-urban Gauteng, which contains over 20% of the national population, to the mostly-desert Northern Cape, which contains less than 3%. The following table shows the provincial populations according to the 2011 National Census,[1] the 2016 Community Survey,[2] and the most recent 2022 Census.[3]

List

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Rank Province Census 2011 2016 community survey Census 2022
Population Percentage Population Percentage Population Percentage
1 Gauteng 12,272,263 23.7 13,399,724 24.1 15,099,422 24.3
2 KwaZulu-Natal 10,267,300 19.8 11,065,240 19.9 12,423,907 20.0
3 Western Cape 5,822,734 11.2 6,279,730 11.3 7,433,019 12.0
4 Eastern Cape 6,562,053 12.7 6,996,976 12.6 7,230,204 11.6
5 Limpopo 5,404,868 10.4 5,799,090 10.4 6,572,720 10.6
6 Mpumalanga 4,039,939 7.8 4,335,964 7.8 5,143,324 8.3
7 North West 3,509,953 6.8 3,748,435 6.7 3,804,548 6.1
8 Free State 2,745,590 5.3 2,834,714 5.1 2,964,412 4.8
9 Northern Cape 1,145,861 2.2 1,193,780 2.1 1,355,946 2.2
South Africa 51,770,561 100.0 55,653,654 100.0 62,027,503 100.0

Historical data

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Since the creation of the current provinces in 1994 there have been three censuses, in 1996, 2001 and 2011.

Province Census 1996[4] Percentage Census 2001[4] Percentage Census 2011 Percentage
Gauteng 7,348,423 18.1 8,837,178 19.7 12,272,263 23.7
KwaZulu-Natal 8,417,021 20.7 9,426,017 21.0 10,267,300 19.8
Eastern Cape 6,302,525 15.5 6,436,763 14.4 6,562,053 12.7
Western Cape 3,956,875 9.7 4,524,335 10.1 5,822,734 11.2
Limpopo 4,929,368 12.1 5,273,642 11.8 5,404,868 10.4
Mpumalanga 2,800,711 6.9 3,122,990 7.0 4,039,939 7.8
North West 3,354,825 8.3 3,669,349 8.2 3,509,953 6.8
Free State 2,633,504 6.5 2,706,775 6.0 2,745,590 5.3
Northern Cape 840,321 2.1 822,727 1.8 1,145,861 2.2
South Africa 40,583,573 100.0 44,819,776 100.0 51,770,561 100.0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. p. 18. ISBN 9780621413885. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.
  2. ^ Community Survey 2016 in Brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2016. ISBN 9780621449785.
  3. ^ "Statistics South Africa | Census Dissemination". census.statssa.gov.za. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b Census 2001: Census in brief (PDF). Statistics South Africa. 2003. p. 6. ISBN 0-621-34293-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2011.