Since the election of 27 April 1994, South Africa has been divided into nine provinces.
They vary widely in population, from the mostly-urban Gauteng, which contains over 20% of the national population, to the mostly-desert Northern Cape, which contains less than 3%.
The following table shows the provincial populations according to the 2011 National Census,[1] the 2016 Community Survey,[2] and the most recent 2022 Census.
[3] Since the creation of the current provinces in 1994 there have been three censuses, in 1996, 2001 and 2011.