List of South African provinces by population

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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 mid-year population estimates by Statistics South Africa.[3]

List[]

Rank Province 2011 census 2016 community survey 2020 mid-year estimate
Population Percentage Population Percentage Population Percentage Population approximately equal
1 Gauteng 12,272,263 23.7 13,399,724 24.1 15,488,137 26.0  Cambodia
2 KwaZulu-Natal 10,267,300 19.8 11,065,240 19.9 11,531,628 19.3  Belgium
3 Eastern Cape 6,562,053 12.7 6,996,976 12.6 6,734,001 11.3  Lebanon
4 Western Cape 5,822,734 11.2 6,279,730 11.3 7,055,741 11.8  Libya
5 Limpopo 5,404,868 10.4 5,799,090 10.4 5,852,533 9.8  Denmark
6 Mpumalanga 4,039,939 7.8 4,335,964 7.8 4,679,786 7.8  Liberia
7 North West 3,509,953 6.8 3,748,435 6.7 4,108,816 6.9  Croatia
8 Free State 2,745,590 5.3 2,834,714 5.1 2,928,903 4.9  Armenia
9 Northern Cape 1,145,861 2.2 1,193,780 2.1 1,292,786 2.2  Mauritius
South Africa 51,770,561 100.0 55,653,654 100.0 59,622,350 100.0  Thailand

Historical data[]

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 1.0 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. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.
  2. ^ Community Survey 2016 in Brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2016. ISBN 9780621449785.
  3. ^ Mid-year population estimates, 2020 (PDF) (Report). Statistics South Africa. 9 July 2020. p. 16. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  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.
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