All about Cape Town
South Africa

Cape Town South Africa is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of the country.

I'm told the city can be compared with Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco and Vancouver as one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

I've never visited any of the others but I can vouch firsthand for Cape Town's spectacular beauty!

In the last 10 years Cape Town has begun to feature as an international tourist destination. It’s also home to a couple of internationally famous sporting events, namely the Two Oceans Marathon and the Argus Cycle Race.

The Cape Town property market has sky rocketed in value as overseas visitors race to snap up a share of the Capetonian lifestyle.

Despite all that Cape Town South Africa retains its unique character.

• outwardly the most European of South Africa's cities, we are nonetheless wholly and proudly African
• our landscape is dominated by the majesty of Table Mountain -- it's unchanging, our compass (literally and metaphorically) as we go about our daily lives
• our history is an intriguingly rich canvas woven with threads from many lands -- as you might expect from a city which has been a strategic port balanced between East and West for 3 centuries






Cape Town South Africa Facts – Size and Population

Cape Town's land area is 2,499 square kilometres (965 sq mi) with a population of 2,893,251 and a population density of 1,158 people per sq km (2,999 per sq mile)

Let's do some meaningful comparison:

For South Africans: Cape Town is about half as big again as Jo'burg, with a lower population. So there are fewer people in Cape Town per sq km.

For Europeans: Cape Town occupies 60% more space than Greater London. But with only 40% of the London population, in Cape Town you'll have almost twice as much space to call your own.

For Americans: Cape Town is about 3 times the size of New York City, but has 5.25 million fewer inhabitants! That puts about 23,000 people fewer in your particular sq mile :o)


Cape Town South Africa Facts – Age, Income and Employment

The median age in the city is 26 years old, with almost half the population less than 24 years old.

The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is ZAR 25 774 – whew! Compare that to the cost of your holiday!

1 in every 6 households is headed by a single person, it’s not known how many are headed by minors.

On average, men still earn more than women.

About 1 in 5 residents is unemployed and of those, 6 out of every 10 are black.




Cape Town South Africa Facts – Language, Religion and Race

Afrikaans is most widely spoken and is home language for 40% of the population. The remainder of the population speaks either Xhosa or English as a home language.

Despite this, English is widely spoken and understood all around the city, making it easy for foreign visitors.

The main religion is Christianity, practised by almost 80% of residents. Approximately 10% are Muslim, with less than 1% each Jewish and Hindu.

Coloured people account for the largest portion of the population (almost half), followed by Black Africans, Whites and then Asians.



More Cape Town South Africa facts -- Cape Town weather and seasons


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