Land area & Population of SA & its Provinces (2001 and 2011)
Nearly a quarter of the population lives on 1.4% of the total land area – Gauteng is by far South Africa's largest and most densely populated province. What these figures show is how SA's landscape is being changed by migration. Provinces where 2001-2011 population change (right hand column) is below 15.5%, do not cater for the needs of their people.
| Land area (km²) |
% | Population 2001 |
% | % change 1996–2001 |
Population 2011 |
% | % change 2001-2011 |
|
| South Africa | 1 219 090 | 100 | 44 819 778 | 100 | 10.4 | 51 770 560 | 100 | 15.5 |
| Western Cape | 129 370 | 10.6 | 4 524 335 | 10.1 | 14.3 | 5 822 734 | 11.2 | 28.7 |
| Eastern Cape | 169 580 | 13.9 | 6 436 763 | 14.4 | 2.1 | 6 562 053 | 12.7 | 1.9 |
| Northern Cape | 361 830 | 29.7 | 991 919 | 1.8 | –2.1 | 1 145 861 | 2.2 | 15.5 |
| Free State | 129 480 | 10.6 | 2 706 775 | 6.0 | 2.8 | 2 745 590 | 5.3 | 1.4 |
| Gauteng | 17 010 | 1.4 | 9 388 854 | 19.7 | 20.3 | 12 272 263 | 23.7 | 30.7 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 92 100 | 7.6 | 9 426 017 | 21.0 | 11.9 | 10 267 300 | 19.8 | 8.9 |
| Limpopo | 123 910 | 10.2 | 5 273 642 | 11.8 | 6.9 | 5 404 868 | 10.4 | 2.5 |
| Mpumalanga | 79 490 | 6.5 | 3 122 990 | 7.0 | 11.5 | 4 039 939 | 7.8 | 29.4 |
| North West | 116 320 | 9.5 | 3 669 349 | 8.2 | –2.1 | 3 509 953 | 0.7 | –4.3 |
Western Cape
Population of the largest municipal areas in the Western Cape (2001 and 2011)
Nearly two-thirds of the Western Cape's population lives in Cape Town. It's easy to see that Bitou (Plettenberg Bay) and Overstrand (Hermanus area) are growing too fast, but it looks as though Oudtshoorn, Breede Valley and Beaufort West are stagnating.
| 2001 |
2001 % of province |
% Change p.a. 1996-2001 |
2011 |
2011 % of province |
% Change p.a. 2001-2011 |
|
| Cape Town | 2 892 243 | 63.9 | 2.42 | 3 740 026 | 64.2 | 2.57 |
| Drakenstein (Paarl) | 194 417 | 4.3 | 0.85 | 251 262 | 5.6 | 2.56 |
| Breede Valley (Worcester) | 146 387 | 3.2 | 2.38 | 166 825 | 2.9 | 1.31 |
| George | 149 436 | 3.3 | 4.36 | 193 672 | 3.3 | 2.59 |
| Stellenbosch | 118 709 | 2.6 | 2.65 | 155 733 | 2.7 | 2.71 |
| Theewaterskloof (Caledon) | 93 276 | 2.1 | 4.47 | 108 790 | 1.9 | 1.54 |
| Oudtshoorn | 84 692 | 1.9 | 1.35 | 95 933 | 1.6 | 1.25 |
| Mossel Bay | 71 494 | 1.6 | 3.58 | 89 430 | 1.5 | 2.24 |
| Saldanha Bay | 70 261 | 1.6 | 4.34 | 99 193 | 1.7 | 3.45 |
| Overstrand (Hermanus) | 55 012 | 1.2 | 8.10 | 80 432 | 1.4 | 3.80 |
| Knysna | 52 035 | 1.2 | 3.54 | 68 659 | 1.2 | 2.77 |
| Beaufort West | 43 290 | 1.0 | 1.24 | 49 586 | 0.9 | 1.36 |
| Bitou (Plettenberg Bay) | 29 182 | 0.6 | 9.19 | 49 162 | 0.8 | 5.22 |
| Cape Agulhas (Bredasdorp) | 27 155 | 0.6 | 3.31 | 33 038 | 0.6 | 1.96 |
Gauteng
Stats for Gauteng and other provinces are being added.| 2001 |
2001 % of province |
% Change p.a. 1996-2001 |
2011 |
2011 % of province |
% Change p.a. 2001-2011 |
|
| Johannesburg | 3 226 055 | 34.4 | 4.02 | 4 434 827 | 36.1 | 3.18 |
| Tshwane (Pretoria) | 2 142 322 | 22.8 | 3.57 | 2 921 488 | 23.8 | 3.10 |
| Ekuhuleni | 2 481 762 | 26.4 | 4.05 | 3 178 470 | 25.9 | 2.47 |
| West Rand | 744 627 | 7.9 | 2.43 | 820 995 | 6.7 | 0.98 |
| Sedibeng | 794 088 | 8.5 | 2.05 | 916 484 | 7.5 | 1.43 |
Source: Department of Land Affairs and Statistics SA