What is the population of Cape Town?
Cape Town has a city population of 4,772,846. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
City profile · South Africa · Africa
Cape Town
City population
4,772,846
#2
in South Africa
#1
in Western Cape
#62
worldwide
-33.926, 18.423 · 1,308 km from Pretoria
About Cape Town
With a metropolitan population of 4,801,000 and a city-proper population of 4,772,846, Cape Town ranks among Africa's largest urban centers. The city sprawls across 1,951 people per km², situated at an elevation of 25 meters in South Africa. Founded in 1652, Cape Town has grown at an annual rate of 1.5% in recent years. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis oversees municipal governance. Cape Town International Airport serves the region's air transport needs.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
4,801,000
0.058% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+1.45%
Archive estimateDensity
1,951/km²
2,461 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 39
Founded
1652
Leadership
Geordin Hill-Lewis
Coordinates
-33.926, 18.423
Record updated
14 April 2026
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 |
| Cape Town | 4.77M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Cape Town International AirportCPT
18 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in South Africa
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 13,038,491 |
| 1960 | 16,440,172 |
| 1970 | 22,279,984 |
| 1980 | 29,518,857 |
| 1990 | 40,746,268 |
| 2000 | 47,159,719 |
| 2010 | 52,344,051 |
| 2020 | 60,562,381 |
| 2030 | 68,161,359 |
| 2040 | 74,035,624 |
| 2050 | 79,177,328 |
| 2060 | 83,443,514 |
| 2070 | 86,857,023 |
| 2080 | 89,674,092 |
| 2090 | 92,160,724 |
| 2100 | 94,314,448 |
Cape Town Population FAQ
Where is Cape Town?
Cape Town is in Western Cape, South Africa, 1,308 km from the capital, Pretoria. Its coordinates are -33.926, 18.423.
How big is Cape Town compared with other cities in South Africa?
It is the 2nd largest of the 295 cities listed in South Africa, holding 7.4% of the national population.