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] and the most recent mid-year population estimate by Statistics South Africa.[2]

Rank Province 2011 census 2015 mid-year estimate
Population Percentage Population Percentage
1 Gauteng 12,272,263 23.7 13,200,300 24.0
2 KwaZulu-Natal 10,267,300 19.8 10,919,100 19.9
3 Eastern Cape 6,562,053 12.7 6,916,200 12.6
4 Western Cape 5,822,734 11.2 6,200,100 11.3
5 Limpopo 5,404,868 10.4 5,726,800 10.4
6 Mpumalanga 4,039,939 7.8 4,283,900 7.8
7 North West 3,509,953 6.8 3,707,100 6.7
8 Free State 2,745,590 5.3 2,817,900 5.1
9 Northern Cape 1,145,861 2.2 1,185,600 2.2
South Africa 51,770,561 100.0 54,956,900 100.0

Historical data

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

Province Census 1996[3] Percentage Census 2001[3] 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 1.0 1,145,861 2.2
South Africa 40,583,573 100.0 44,819,776 100.0 51,770,561 100.0

See also

References

  1. ↑ Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. p. 18. ISBN 9780621413885.
  2. ↑ Mid-year population estimates, 2015 (PDF) (Report). Statistics South Africa. 31 July 2015. p. 3. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 Census 2001: Census in brief (PDF). Statistics South Africa. 2003. p. 6. ISBN 0-621-34293-9. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
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