Cape Town
Cape Town
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Logo | |
| Nicknames: Mother City, Tavern of the Seas (archaic) | |
| Motto: Spes Bona (Latin for "Good Hope") | |
Interactive map of Cape Town | |
Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town | |
| Coordinates: 33°55′31″S 18°25′26″E / 33.92528°S 18.42389°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| Municipality | City of Cape Town |
| Founded | 6 April 1652 |
| Municipal government | 1839 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Metropolitan municipality |
| • Mayor | Geordin Hill-Lewis (DA) |
| • Deputy Mayor | Eddie Andrews (DA) |
| Area | |
| 2,461 km2 (950 sq mi) | |
| Highest elevation | 1,590.4 m (5,218 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Rank | 13th in Africa 2nd in South Africa |
| • Urban (2011) | 433,688 |
| • Urban density | 1,083/km2 (2,800/sq mi) |
| • Metro (2022) | 4,772,846 |
| • Metro density | 1,952/km2 (5,060/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Capetonian |
| Racial makeup (2022) | |
| • Black African | 45.7% |
| • Coloured | 35.0% |
| • Indian/Asian | 1.6% |
| • White | 16.2% |
| • Other | 1.5% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 35.7% |
| • Xhosa | 29.2% |
| • English | 27.8% |
| • Other languages | 7.3% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal codes (street) | 7400–8099 |
| PO box | 7000 |
| HDI | 0.82 – very high |
| GMP (2020) | US$121 billion |
| GMP per capita (2011) | US$19,656 |
| Website | capetown.gov.za |
Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's second-largest city by population, after Johannesburg, and the largest city in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
The city is known for its harbour, its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Located on the shore of Table Bay, the City Bowl area of Cape Town, which contains its central business district (CBD), is the oldest urban area in the Western Cape, with a significant cultural heritage. The metropolitan area has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, which includes a northern section in the West Beach region, as well as the False Bay area in the south.
The Table Mountain National Park is within the city boundaries and there are several other nature reserves and marine-protected areas within and adjacent to the city. These include Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, which contains 5 of South Africa's 6 biomes, and displays many plants native to the Cape region.
A popular global tourist destination, Cape Town has been named the best city in the world, and the world's best city for travelers numerous times, including by The New York Times in 2014, Time Out in 2025, and The Telegraph for the past 8 years (2017 through 2025).
Cape Town has South Africa's highest household incomes, lowest rate of unemployment, highest level of infrastructure investment, strongest service delivery performance, largest tourism appeal, and most robust real estate market.