This country in the south of the continent has a long and complicated history, there have been leaden years, segregation against indigenous people and today laws and targeted violence against ethnic minorities. The “Rainbow Nation” wanted by the great statesman Nelson Mandela seems to be a distant memory. The tragedy is that more than 20% of the population is infected with HIV. Moreover, poverty, violence and the law of retaliation seems to have regained control, an act of sterile revenge against a terrible history. Here is a brief presentation of South Africa’s largest cities.
1. Johannesburg, one of South Africa’s largest cities
The population of the Johannesburg urban area is estimated at 4.95 million. That is 8.5% of the country’s total population concentrated around one of the country’s capitals. It must be said that Johannesburg is the lung of the country. This large South African city is indeed the economic capital.
An economic capital plunged into misery.
Nevertheless, it is in Soweto that one will, unfortunately, find the typical South African cities. With Soweto, the most famous of all the shanty towns. An insalubrious place which gathers more than one million people. Desolate and chilling numbers. Especially when you know that South Africa is the most developed country and one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, the consequence is bound to be violence, a lot of abuse. And this is what drives young South African graduates to leave the country.
Johannesburg in detail
In terms of geographical data, Johannesburg is at an altitude of over 1,750 metres and covers an area of 1,645 square kilometres.
2. Cape Town, the legislative capital
It is often asked, but what is the capital of South Africa? Well, Cape Town is one of the three capitals of South Africa. It is usually said to be the legislative capital because the parliament is located in this southern city and in 2018 the population of Cape Town was estimated to be 4 million people. Cape Town, the second-largest city in South Africa in terms of population, covers an area of 400 square kilometres.
Cape Town’s youthful population
What’s impressive about Cape Town is the average age of the population. Half of the people would be under 24 years old, and only 5% of the people would be over 60 years old. To illustrate these figures, let’s take the median age of the population. In Cape Town the median age is 26 years, meaning that there are as many people under 26 years of age as there are over 26 years of age.
A mixed and multicultural city
The southernmost city on the African continent is, of course, Cape Town. A city founded in 1 652 whose geographical location makes it an unavoidable part, a place of passage open to the world, a meeting point between the Portuguese who fled Mozambique and Angola, a community of Italians, Greeks and French. There is also a small Asian community, a Jewish community of more than 100,000 people and half a million people from Southern Africa.
3. Durban, one of the largest cities in South Africa (eThekwini)
With 3.7 million inhabitants, Durban is one of the largest cities in South Africa. A large city located on the shores of the Indian Ocean where ultra-modern buildings occupy the waterfront just a stone’s throw from the historic centre.
4. Pretoria, the administrative capital
One of the three capitals, Pretoria, has 3.3 million inhabitants. Located in the province of Gauteng, this city was many times in the past the real and the only one capital of the country. The administrative capital of South Africa is more nicknamed “the city of the Jacarandas”. As a reminder of spring, an extraordinary moment for the city. In Japan, it is the cherry trees that are in bloom, but in Pretoria, it is the Jacarandas. Pretoria is also a city that has grown over time. As it has spread out, it has absorbed a little over a dozen municipalities or administrative structures.
5. Port Elizabeth, one of South Africa’s largest cities
1.65 million people are living in Port Elizabeth. A city which, by the way, has been renamed Nelson Mandela Bay. There is a real desire to erase the traces of the past. This city in the south of the country has been a place of settlement since the dawn of time. Originally a group of hunter-gatherers lived there, then around the year 800 by the Bantu, an ethnic group coming from the north. Today the city of Port Elizabeth covers 251 square kilometres. Today, Port Elizabeth is a port city where many automobile production plants are located.
6. Buffalo City
Sur la côte sud du pays entre Nelson Mandela Bay et Durban, la ville de Buffalo City abrite un peu plus de 800 000 habitants. Située sur la rive nord de la rivière Buffalo, Buffalo City est une ville moderne et dynamique qui incarne la période post-apartheid.
7. Bloemfontein, la capitale judiciaire
On dénombre 760 000 habitants environ à Bloemfontein. Une ville qui porte un nom hollandais et qui signifie « la fontaine de fleur ». Aujourd’hui capitale judiciaire du pays, c’est peut-être pour ne pas oublier que Bloemfontain fut un jour la capitale du pays entre 1854 et 1902. Aujourd’hui cette ville héberge la Cour Suprême d’Appel. D’où son nom statut de capitale judiciaire.
Située à l’intérieur des terres, dans le centre du pays, Bloemfontein est un ville qui se trouve à 1 400 mètres d’altitude.
8. Vereeniging, l’agglomération d’Emfuleni
On estime à 770 000 habitants le nombre d’habitants dans l’agglomération de Vereeniging. Cette ville industrielle et minière se situe dans le sud du de Prétoria au nord du Lesotho, l’un des plus petits pays d’Afrique.
Une ville s’étend sur près de 188 kilomètres carrés et qui se trouve sur les bords de la rivière Vaal. Cette ville fut fondée en 1892.
9. Pietersburg ou Polokwane
Il y a 702 200 habitants à Polokwane, l’une des plus grandes villes d’Afrique du Sud. Cette ville fut créée en 1884 par des pionniers blancs originaires des Pays-Bas.
10. Pietermaritzburg
On compte 680 000 habitants à Pietermaritzbourg, dont le nom est Msunduzi.