What is the population of Bloemfontein?
Bloemfontein has a city population of 556,637. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
City profile · South Africa · Africa
Bloemfontein
City population
556,637
#11
in South Africa
#1
in Free State
#999
worldwide
-29.121, 26.214 · 423 km from Pretoria
About Bloemfontein
The largest city in Free State, Bloemfontein holds 556,637 people and accounts for 0.9% of South Africa's national population. It sits 423 km from Pretoria and at an elevation of 1,396 m. Botshabelo, with 309,714 residents, lies 52 km away; Thaba Nchu (72,721) is 61 km distant.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 41
Elevation
1,396 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Johannesburg
Coordinates
-29.121, 26.214
Record updated
2026-04-14
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 295 in South AfricaClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Bloemfontein | 557K |
Bloemfontein Population FAQ
Where is Bloemfontein?
Bloemfontein is in Free State, South Africa, 423 km from the capital, Pretoria. Its coordinates are -29.121, 26.214.
How big is Bloemfontein compared with other cities in South Africa?
It is the 11th largest of the 295 cities of 15,000 or more listed in South Africa, holding 0.9% of the national population.