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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] [ 2] [ 3]
Rank
Province
Census 2011
2016 community survey
Census 2022
Population
Percentage
Population
Percentage
Population
Percentage
1
Gauteng
12,272,263
23.7
13,399,724
24.1
15,099,422
24.3
2
KwaZulu-Natal
10,267,300
19.8
11,065,240
19.9
12,423,907
20.0
3
Western Cape
5,822,734
11.2
6,279,730
11.3
7,433,019
12.0
4
Eastern Cape
6,562,053
12.7
6,996,976
12.6
7,230,204
11.6
5
Limpopo
5,404,868
10.4
5,799,090
10.4
6,572,720
10.6
6
Mpumalanga
4,039,939
7.8
4,335,964
7.8
5,143,324
8.3
7
North West
3,509,953
6.8
3,748,435
6.7
3,804,548
6.1
8
Free State
2,745,590
5.3
2,834,714
5.1
2,964,412
4.8
9
Northern Cape
1,145,861
2.2
1,193,780
2.1
1,355,946
2.2
South Africa
51,770,561
100.0
55,653,654
100.0
62,027,503
100.0
Since the creation of the current provinces in 1994 there have been three censuses, in 1996, 2001 and 2011.
Province
Census 1996[ 4]
Percentage
Census 2001[ 4]
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
