List of South african provinces by population density - wikipedia List of South african provinces by population density Since the election of 27 April 1994, South Africa has been divided into nine provinces. They vary widely in population density, from the highly urbanized Gauteng with nearly 700 people per square kilometre, to the mostly - desert Northern Cape with less than four people per square kilometre. The following table shows the provincial population density according to the 2011 National Census. Rank Province Population ( 2011 ) Area ( km2 ) Density ( per km2 ) Gauteng 12,272,263 18,178 675.1 KwaZulu - Natal 10,267,300 120,361 85.3 Mpumalanga 4,039,939 76,495 52.8 Western Cape 5,822,734 129,462 45.0 Limpopo 5,404,868 125,755 43.0 6 Eastern Cape 6,562,053 168,966 38.8 7 North West 3,509,953 104,882 33.5 8 Free State 2,745,590 129,825 21.1 9 Northern Cape 1,145,861 372,889 3.1 South Africa 51,770,561 1,220,813 42.4 Historical data Since the creation of the current provinces in 1994 there have been three censuses, in 1996, 2001 and 2011. Province Census 1996 Census 2001 Census 2011 Gauteng 432.0 519.5 675.1 KwaZulu - Natal 91.4 102.3 108.8 Mpumalanga 35.2 39.3 52.8 Western Cape 30.6 35.0 45.0 Limpopo 39.8 42.6 43.0 Eastern Cape 37.2 38.0 38.8 North West 28.8 31.5 33.5 Free State 20.3 20.9 21.1 Northern Cape 2.3 2.3 3.1 South Africa 33.3 36.8 42.4 See also List of South African provinces by population List of South African provinces by area References Jump up ^ Census 2011 : Census in brief ( PDF ). Pretoria : Statistics South Africa. 2012. p. 18. ISBN 9780621413885. Archived ( PDF ) from the original on 13 May 2015. ^ Jump up to : Census 2001 : Census in brief ( PDF ). Statistics South Africa. 2003. pp. 2&ndash, 6. ISBN 0 - 621 - 34293 - 9. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 5 May 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2011. Lists relating to the provinces of South Africa Ranked by area by population by population density by GDP by GDP per capita by HDI by highest point Political Capitals Administrators ( 1910 -- 1994 ) Premiers ( since 1994 ) Legislatures Districts Municipalities Other ISO 3166 - 2 codes Vehicle registration plates Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_South_African_provinces_by_population_density&oldid=832510711 '' Categories : Lists of provinces of South Africa Ranked lists of country subdivisions Demographics of South Africa Lists by population density Talk About Wikipedia اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 26 March 2018, at 13 : 06 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: which province has the smallest population in south africa
Answer: Northern Cape