South Africa is divided into nine provinces namely; the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape, and Western Cape.
Gauteng is the smallest, most crowded, and most urbanised, while the Northern Cape is the largest but arid and mostly empty, taking up almost a third of South Africa’s total land area.
Each of the nine provinces has its own Legislature, Premier, and Executive Council.
List of South Africa’s Provinces
The table below shows South Africa’s nine provinces, the area they cover, their capital cities, the largest city in each province, the population of each province, and the most spoken language in each province.
| Province | Area | Capital | Largest City | Population (2024) | Most Spoken Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | 168,966 km² (65,238 sq mi) | Bhisho | Gqeberha | 7,176,230 | Xhosa |
| Free State | 129,825 km² (50,126 sq mi) | Bloemfontein | Bloemfontein | 3,044,050 | Sotho |
| Gauteng | 18,178 km² (7,019 sq mi) | Johannesburg | Johannesburg | 15,931,824 | Zulu |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 94,361 km² (36,433 sq mi) | Pietermaritzburg | Durban | 12,312,712 | Zulu |
| Limpopo | 125,754 km² (48,554 sq mi) | Polokwane | Polokwane | 6,402,594 | Pedi |
| Mpumalanga | 76,495 km² (29,535 sq mi) | Mbombela | Mbombela | 5,057,662 | Swazi |
| North West | 104,882 km² (40,495 sq mi) | Mahikeng | Rustenburg | 4,155,303 | Tswana |
| Northern Cape | 372,889 km² (143,973 sq mi) | Kimberley | Kimberley | 1,372,943 | Afrikaans |
| Western Cape | 129,462 km² (49,986 sq mi) | Cape Town | Cape Town | 7,562,588 | Afrikaans |
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape province is located on the east coast of South Africa between KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces.
Inland, the Eastern Cape borders the Free State and Northern Cape provinces and the country of Lesotho.
| Capital: | Bhisho |
| Languages spoken: | isiXhosa 82.7%, Afrikaans 10,3%, English 3,9% |
| Population: | 7,176,230 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 11.4% |
| Area covered: | 168,966 km² |
Free State
The Free State, formerly the Orange Free State, is a rural province of farmland, goldfields, mountains, and widely dispersed towns.
The province is geographically located in the centre of South Africa.
KwaZulu-Natal and the country of Lesotho on the east, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, and North West on the north, North Cape on the west, and Eastern Cape on the south border the Free State.
| Capital: | Bloemfontein |
| Languages spoken: | Sesotho 71,9%, Afrikaans 10,9%, isiXhosa 5,7% |
| Population: | 3,044,050 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 4.8% |
| Area covered: | 129,825 km² |
Gauteng
Gauteng is the smallest province of South Africa by land, covering an area of 18,178 square kilometres (7,018 square miles) which is 1.5% of the total surface area of the country.
Despite its small size, Gauteng is the most populous province in South Africa with 15,931,824 inhabitants (25.3% of the national population) according to the 2024 mid-year estimates by Statistics South Africa.
It is bordered by Limpopo on the north, North West on the west, Free State on the south, and Mpumalanga on the east.
| Capital: | Johannesburg |
| Languages spoken: | IsiZulu 23,0%, Afrikaans 10,1%, Sesotho 12,7%, English 11,3% |
| Population: | 15,931,824 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 25.3% |
| Area covered: | 18,178 km² |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal was created in 1994 after the government merged the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province.
It lies in the southeastern part of South Africa with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean.
KwaZulu-Natal is bordered by countries Eswatini and Mozambique in the north, and Lesotho in the west. It is also bordered by provinces Mpumalanga on the north, Free State on the west, and Eastern Cape on the south.
| Capital: | Pietermaritzburg |
| Languages spoken: | isiZulu 82,5%, English12,5%, Afrikaans 1,0% |
| Population: | 12,312,712 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 19.5% |
| Area covered: | 94,361 km² |
Limpopo
Limpopo is South Africa’s northernmost province and was named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province’s northern and western borders.
Limpopo was created from three former homelands of Gazankulu, Lebowa, Venda and part of the former Transvaal Province, and was established as one of nine provinces after the 1994 South African general election.
The country of Botswana borders the province on the west, provinces North West, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga on the south, the country of Mozambique on the east, and Zimbabwe on the north.
| Capital: | Polokwane |
| Languages spoken: | Sepedi 56,0%, Tshivenda 17,1%, Xitsonga 16,6% |
| Population: | 6,402,594 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 10.2% |
| Area covered: | 125,755 km² |
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga, the second-smallest province in South Africa after Gauteng, is located in the north-eastern part of the country.
It was formed in 1994 by merging the former Eastern Transvaal with the former Bantustans KwaNdebele, KaNgwane, and parts of Gazankulu and Lebowa.
Mpumalanga is bordered by countries Mozambique and Eswatini on the east, provinces Limpopo on the north, Gauteng on the west, and Free State and KwaZulu-Natal on the south.
| Capital: | Mbombela |
| Languages spoken: | Siswati 29,1%, isiZulu 28,8%, Xitsonga 9,6%, isiNdebele 10,1% |
| Population: | 5,057,662 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 8% |
| Area covered: | 76,495 km² |
North West
The North West lies in the north South Africa. It was created in 1994 after the end of apartheid from portions of the former Province of the Cape of Good Hope, Transvaal Province, and most of the former Bantustan of Bophuthatswana.
The North West is bordered by the country of Botswana on the north and northwest, provinces Northern Cape on the southwest, Free State on the southeast, Gauteng on the east, and Limpopo on the northeast.
| Capital: | Mahikeng |
| Languages spoken: | Setswana 71,5%, Afrikaans 8,96%, isiXhosa 5,51% |
| Population: | 4,155,303 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 6.6% |
| Area covered: | 104,882 km² |
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape, situated in western South Africa is the largest and least populated province in the country.
Northern Cape was created in 1994 after the end of apartheid when the Province of the Cape of Good Hope was split up into three provinces, the other two being Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
It is bordered by countries Botswana and Namibia on the north, provinces Northern Cape and Free State on the east, Eastern Cape on the southeast, Western Cape on the south and southwest, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west which also forms the province’s western boundary.
| Capital: | Kimberley |
| Languages spoken: | Afrikaans 56,8%, Setswana 33,4% |
| Population: | 1,372,943 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 2.2% |
| Area covered: | 372,889 km² |
Western Cape
The Western Cape is located on the southwestern tip of South Africa between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
It was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province.
The Western Cape is bordered by the Eastern Cape in the east and the Northern Cape in the north.
| Capital: | Cape Town |
| Languages spoken: | Afrikaans 46,6%, isiXhosa 31,1%, English 19,6% |
| Population: | 7,562,588 |
| Percentage of the national population: | 12% |
| Area covered: | 129,462 km² |
