Cape Town, South Africa Population 2024

Cape Town's 2024 population is now estimated at 4,977,830In 1950, the population of Cape Town was 618,051Cape Town has grown by 87,550 in the last year, which represents a 1.79% annual change.These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. These estimates represent the Urban agglomeration of Cape Town, which typically includes Cape Town's population in addition to adjacent suburban areas.

Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa behind Johannesburg, and it is the provincial capital of the Western Cape. Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town is famous around the world for its beautiful harbor and is considered one of the best places in the world to visit.

Censuses

The most recent census in South Africa was completed in 2011. At this point, the population of Cape Town was counted as 3,740,026, with a growth rate of 2.57% over ten years. If this growth rate is sustained, it will put the 2018 population of Cape Town at somewhere around 3.81 million, which is a bit higher than the UN estimates.

City Size and Population Density

Cape Town is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, approximately 400 square kilometers in area with a population density of 1,530 people per square kilometer.

Cape Town has many notable neighborhoods. The Atlantic Seaboard to the west of Cape Town, for example, has some of the most expensive real estate in the country and the highest concentration of multimillionaires in the city. The Northern Suburbs are comprised mostly of Afrikaans-speaking people while the Southern Suburbs are mostly English-speaking people. The Cape Flats to the southeast of the central business district is often called "Apartheid's dumping ground" as it became home to people the apartheid government considered non-white.

Cape Town Demographics

Cape Town is one of the most multicultural cities in the world and is a significant destination for expatriates and immigrants.

The ethnic and racial composition of Cape Town is:

  • 42.4% "Coloured"
  • 38.6% "Black African"
  • 15.7% "White"
  • 1.4% "Asian or Indian"
  • 1.9% other

Apartheid in South Africa is still felt in Cape Town. The Apartheid system in the city designated the African population based on tribe, allocating every person to one of nine tribes. The racial category of " colored" is very contentious in the country, and it is often a way to lump together the rest of the population that does not fit into one of the nine tribes or identities. The colored population is mostly concentrated in the Western Cape, and many are descended from slaves brought to work on farms in the area during the 17th century.

The 2011 census also found that the share of colored people in the Western Cape fell from 54% in 2001 to 49.6% in 2011 while the white population dropped from 18.4% to 16%. The black population increased from 26.7% to 33.4% while the Indian population grew slightly to 1.1%.

Cape Town Population Growth

Cape Town was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652 as a stopping point for ships traveling to the Dutch East Indies. The city grew relatively slowly until the 20th century, reaching a population of 171,000 in 1901. Since then it has increased by a consistent 2-3% annually to reach its current population of nearly 4 million.

Cape Town grew 2.6% from 2001 to 2011, reaching a metro population of 3.75 million. In 2013, the Western Cape was one of 4 provinces in South Africa that showed significant growth, with the Western Cape's population growing by nearly 1.5 million people over twelve years. The province's share of South Africa's population increased from 10.1% to 11.4% over this time.

Cape Town and the Western Cape are attracting many migrants, primarily due to the area being an employment hub. Unfortunately, Cape Town cannot keep up with the pace of migration for long as it puts a great deal of pressure on the city and businesses which provide jobs.

Growth Rate
1.79%

86 Rows

Year
Population
20355,845,300
20345,771,530
20335,696,880
20325,621,350
20315,544,980
20305,467,700
20295,389,480
20285,310,210
20275,229,650
20265,147,500
20255,063,580
20244,977,830
20234,890,280
20224,800,950
20214,709,990
20204,617,560
20194,524,110
20184,430,370
20174,317,500
20164,207,520
20154,100,330
20143,995,880
20133,894,090
20123,794,890
20113,698,210
20103,604,130
20093,512,440
20083,423,210
20073,336,000
20063,251,140
20053,168,430
20043,087,930
20033,009,270
20022,932,710
20012,858,000
20002,785,030
19992,713,730
19982,644,350
19972,576,740
19962,510,980
19952,446,820
19942,384,370
19932,323,520
19922,264,300
19912,206,440
19902,155,020
19892,107,020
19882,060,160
19872,014,210
19861,969,350
19851,925,490
19841,864,620
19831,797,180
19821,732,270
19811,669,700
19801,609,470
19791,551,260
19781,495,230
19771,441,230
19761,389,240
19751,339,000
19741,290,640
19731,244,020
19721,199,150
19711,155,780
19701,114,030
19691,077,460
19681,042,790
19671,009,140
1966976,614
1965945,140
1964914,722
1963885,203
1962856,676
1961829,067
1960803,346
1959782,530
1958762,280
1957742,554
1956723,365
1955704,621
1954686,388
1953668,626
1952651,347
1951634,469
1950618,051

86 Rows

Year
Population
Change
Growth
1950618,0510%0
1951634,4692.66%16,418
1952651,3472.66%16,878
1953668,6262.65%17,279
1954686,3882.66%17,762
1955704,6212.66%18,233
1956723,3652.66%18,744
1957742,5542.65%19,189
1958762,2802.66%19,726
1959782,5302.66%20,250
1960803,3462.66%20,816
1961829,0673.2%25,721
1962856,6763.33%27,609
1963885,2033.33%28,527
1964914,7223.33%29,519
1965945,1403.33%30,418
1966976,6143.33%31,474
19671,009,1403.33%32,526
19681,042,7903.33%33,650
19691,077,4603.32%34,670
19701,114,0303.39%36,570
19711,155,7803.75%41,750
19721,199,1503.75%43,370
19731,244,0203.74%44,870
19741,290,6403.75%46,620
19751,339,0003.75%48,360
19761,389,2403.75%50,240
19771,441,2303.74%51,990
19781,495,2303.75%54,000
19791,551,2603.75%56,030
19801,609,4703.75%58,210
19811,669,7003.74%60,230
19821,732,2703.75%62,570
19831,797,1803.75%64,910
19841,864,6203.75%67,440
19851,925,4903.26%60,870
19861,969,3502.28%43,860
19872,014,2102.28%44,860
19882,060,1602.28%45,950
19892,107,0202.27%46,860
19902,155,0202.28%48,000
19912,206,4402.39%51,420
19922,264,3002.62%57,860
19932,323,5202.62%59,220
19942,384,3702.62%60,850
19952,446,8202.62%62,450
19962,510,9802.62%64,160
19972,576,7402.62%65,760
19982,644,3502.62%67,610
19992,713,7302.62%69,380
20002,785,0302.63%71,300
20012,858,0002.62%72,970
20022,932,7102.61%74,710
20033,009,2702.61%76,560
20043,087,9302.61%78,660
20053,168,4302.61%80,500
20063,251,1402.61%82,710
20073,336,0002.61%84,860
20083,423,2102.61%87,210
20093,512,4402.61%89,230
20103,604,1302.61%91,690
20113,698,2102.61%94,080
20123,794,8902.61%96,680
20133,894,0902.61%99,200
20143,995,8802.61%101,790
20154,100,3302.61%104,450
20164,207,5202.61%107,190
20174,317,5002.61%109,980
20184,430,3702.61%112,870
20194,524,1102.12%93,740
20204,617,5602.07%93,450
20214,709,9902%92,430
20224,800,9501.93%90,960
20234,890,2801.86%89,330
20244,977,8301.79%87,550
20255,063,5801.72%85,750
20265,147,5001.66%83,920
20275,229,6501.6%82,150
20285,310,2101.54%80,560
20295,389,4801.49%79,270
20305,467,7001.45%78,220
20315,544,9801.41%77,280
20325,621,3501.38%76,370
20335,696,8801.34%75,530
20345,771,5301.31%74,650
20355,845,3001.28%73,770

Cape Town Population Data (Urban Area)

Name
2024 Pop.
2024 Growth
Johannesburg6,324,3502.04%
Cape Town4,977,8301.79%
Ekurhuleni4,190,8301.76%
Durban3,262,1301.06%
Pretoria2,889,9002.55%
Port Elizabeth1,312,6301.29%
West Rand947,7341.43%
Soshanguve905,8681.53%
Vereeniging802,9001.13%
Buffalo City745,8551.38%
Bloemfontein608,6551.72%
Rustenburg592,1933.1%
Pietermaritzburg553,1621.34%
Witbank511,9732.56%
Polokwane493,9513.07%

Other Cities in South Africa

  1. Statistics South Africa - City of Cape Town data and statistics
  2. Western Cape Government - Regional development profile of the city of Cape Town

Sources