List of South African Provinces by Population Density (2024)

Since the 1994 South African general election, South Africa has been divided into nine provinces.

Current data

The provinces vary widely in population density, from the highly urbanized Gauteng with over 870 people per square kilometre, to the mostly-desert Northern Cape with less than four people per square kilometre.

The table below shows the provincial population density based on the 2024 Mid-Year estimates by Statistics South Africa.

Province2024 Mid-Year EstimatesArea (km²)Density (km²)
Gauteng15,931,82418,178876
KwaZulu-Natal12,312,71294,361130
Mpumalanga5,057,66276,49566.1
Western Cape7,562,588129,46258.4
Limpopo6,402,594125,75550.9
Eastern Cape7,176,230168,96642.5
North West4,155,303104,88239.6
Free State3,044,050129,82523.4
Northern Cape1,372,943372,8893.68
South Africa63,015,9061,220,81351.6

Historical data

Since the creation of the current provinces in 1994 there have been four censuses, in 1996, 2001, 2011, and 2022.

The table below shows the provincial population density after the 1996, 2001, and 2011 census exercises.

ProvinceCensus 1996Census 2001Census 2011Census 2022
Gauteng432.0519.5675.1831
KwaZulu-Natal91.4102.3108.8132
Mpumalanga35.239.352.867.2
Western Cape30.635.045.057.4
Limpopo39.842.643.052.3
Eastern Cape37.238.038.842.8
North West28.831.533.536.3
Free State20.320.921.122.8
Northern Cape2.32.33.13.64
South Africa33.336.842.450.8