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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · South Africa · Africa

Soweto

Gauteng · South Africa
City population
1,695,047
#5
in South Africa
#3
in Gauteng
#260
worldwide
PretoriaSoweto
-26.268, 27.858 · 67 km from Pretoria
City population
1,695,047
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in South Africa
#5
of 295 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#260
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of South Africa
2.6%
of the national population

About Soweto

Ringed by major cities, this settlement of 1.7 million sits 20 km from Johannesburg, the country's largest city at 9.4 million, and 12 km from Roodepoort (326,416). The fifth-largest city proper in South Africa, it accounts for 2.6% of the national population and lies 67 km from the capital, Pretoria, at an elevation of 1,632 m.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in South Africa
#5of 295
LargestSmallest
Position in Gauteng
#3of 33
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
South Africa
Region
Gauteng
Rank in region
#3of 33
Distance to capital
67 km
to Pretoria
Elevation
1,632 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Johannesburg
Coordinates
-26.268, 27.858
Record updated
2012-07-12
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 Africa

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

12KMRoodepoort326K people18KMRandfontein134K people20KMJohannesburg9.42M people22KMWestonaria157K people22KMKrugersdorp379K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Soweto1.7M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Soweto compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Soweto1.7M

Soweto Population FAQ

What is the population of Soweto?

Soweto has a city population of 1,695,047. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Soweto?

Soweto is in Gauteng, South Africa, 67 km from the capital, Pretoria. Its coordinates are -26.268, 27.858.

How big is Soweto compared with other cities in South Africa?

It is the 5th largest of the 295 cities of 15,000 or more listed in South Africa, holding 2.6% of the national population.

Explore

South AfricaAll 295 citiesGauteng33 cities in the regionCountry profileSouth Africa population & indicators