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]
| Rank |
Province |
Population (2011) |
Percentage |
Population Estimate (2013) |
| 1 |
Gauteng |
12,272,263 |
23.7 |
12,728,400 |
| 2 |
KwaZulu-Natal |
10,267,300 |
19.8 |
10,456,900 |
| 3 |
Eastern Cape |
6,562,053 |
12.7 |
6,620,100 |
| 4 |
Western Cape |
5,822,734 |
11.2 |
6,016,900 |
| 5 |
Limpopo |
5,404,868 |
10.4 |
5,518,000 |
| 6 |
Mpumalanga |
4,039,939 |
7.8 |
4,128,000 |
| 7 |
North West |
3,509,953 |
6.8 |
3,597,600 |
| 8 |
Free State |
2,745,590 |
5.3 |
2,753,200 |
| 9 |
Northern Cape |
1,145,861 |
2.2 |
1,162,900 |
| South Africa |
51,770,561 |
100.0 |
52,982,000 |
Historical data [edit]
Since the creation of the current provinces in 1994 there have been three censuses, in 1996, 2001 and 2011.
| Province |
Census 1996[2] |
Percentage |
Census 2001[2] |
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 [edit]
References [edit]
