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 21.5% of the national population, to the mostly-desert Northern Cape, which contains only 2.2%.

According to the Community Survey 2007

Rank	Province	Population (2007)	Percentage
1	Gauteng	10,667,578	22.0
2	KwaZulu-Natal	10,259,230	21.2
3	Eastern Cape	6,527,747	13.5
4	Western Cape	5,278,585	10.9
5	Limpopo	5,238,286	10.8
6	Mpumalanga	3,643,435	7.5
7	North West	3,056,083	6.3
8	Free State	2,773,059	5.7
9	Northern Cape	1,058,060	2.2
South Africa		48,502,063	100.0

According to the mid-year population estimates

Rank	Province	Population (2011 est.)	Percentage
1	Gauteng	11,328,203	22.4
2	KwaZulu-Natal	10,819,130	21.3
3	Eastern Cape	6,829,958	13.5
4	Limpopo	5,554,657	10.9
5	Western Cape	5,287,863	10.4
6	Mpumalanga	3,657,181	7.2
7	North West	3,253,390	6.4
8	Free State	2,759,644	5.7
9	Northern Cape	1,096,731	2.2
South Africa		50,586,757	100.0

Historical data

Since 1994 there have been two full censuses, in 1996 and 2001, as well as a "Community Survey" in 2007 which sampled approximately 2% of the population.

Province	Census 1996	Percentage	Census 2001	Percentage	Community Survey 2007	Percentage
Gauteng	7,348,423	18.1	8,837,178	19.7	10,451,713	21.5
KwaZulu-Natal	8,417,021	20.7	9,426,017	21.0	10,259,230	21.2
Eastern Cape	6,302,525	15.5	6,436,763	14.4	6,527,747	13.5
Western Cape	3,956,875	9.7	4,524,335	10.1	5,278,585	10.9
Limpopo	4,929,368	12.1	5,273,642	11.8	5,238,286	10.8
Mpumalanga	2,800,711	6.9	3,122,990	7.0	3,643,435	7.5
North West	3,354,825	8.3	3,669,349	8.2	3,271,948	6.7
Free State	2,633,504	6.5	2,706,775	6.0	2,773,059	5.7
Northern Cape	840,321	2.1	822,727	1.8	1,058,060	2.2
South Africa	40,583,573	100.0	44,819,776	100.0	48,502,063	100.0

See also

• List of South African provinces by population density