Map of Western Cape

Political history

The Cape has had a long tradition of holding liberal values. For example, the Cape Qualified Franchise before the Union of South Africa.

The Cape Qualified Franchise was the system of non-racial franchise that was adhered to in the Cape Colony, and in the Cape Province in the early years of the Union of South Africa. Qualifications for the right to vote at parliamentary elections were applied equally to all men, regardless of race.

This local system of multi-racial suffrage was later gradually restricted, and eventually abolished, under various National Party and United Party governments. In 1930, white women were enfranchised, and in 1931 property qualifications for white voters were removed.

Geography

The Western Cape is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about 400 kilometres (250 mi) northwards along the Atlantic coast and about 500 kilometres (300 mi) eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by the Eastern Cape.

The total land area of the province is 129,462 square kilometres (49,986 sq mi), about 10.6% of the country's total. It is roughly the size of England or the State of Louisiana. Its capital city and largest city is Cape Town, and some other major cities include Stellenbosch, Worcester, Paarl, and George. The Garden Route and the Overberg are popular coastal tourism areas.

Economy

In 2024, the Western Cape's total real GDP increased to R666.75 billion. That equated to 14.2% of South Africa's total GDP, and a real GDP per capita of R87,859. The Western Cape has the third-largest economy of South Africa's nine provinces, behind Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Western Cape has had the strongest-performing provincial economy in South Africa for a decade, with an average annual growth rate of around 0.87% - well above the national average. Purchasing power is also strong in the Western Cape, GDP per capita in the province is significantly higher than the national average.

As of 2023, the Western Cape's Human Development Index (HDI) is the highest in South Africa at 0.778, and has had SA's highest HDI for almost three decades.

Demographics

The 2022 South African census recorded the population of the Western Cape as 7,433,020 people living in 2,264,032 households. As the province covers an area of 129,462 square kilometres (49,986 sq mi), the population density was 45.0 inhabitants per square kilometre (117/sq mi) and the household density 12.6 per square kilometre (33/sq mi).

The age distribution of the province was as follows: 25.1% were under the age of 15, 18.3% from 15 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 28 years.