| name | population 1996-10-09 census | population 2001-10-10 census | population 2007 CS | latitude / longitude |
|---|
| Johannesburg | 2,639,110 | 3,225,309 | 3,888,180 | -26.04/27.98 |
| Cape Town | 2,563,612 | 2,892,243 | 3,497,097 | -33.93/18.42 |
| eThekwini (Durban) | 2,751,193 | 3,090,122 | 3,468,086 | -29.89/30.97 |
| Ekurhuleni - Germiston (East Rand) | 2,026,807 | 2,478,631 | 2,724,229 | -26.23/28.17 |
| Tshwane (Pretoria) | 1,682,701 | 1,982,235 | 2,345,908 | -25.72/28.25 |
| Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) | 969,771 | 1,005,779 | 1,050,930 | -33.91/25.57 |
| Mangaung (Bloemfontein) | 603,704 | 645,440 | 752,906 | -29.14/26.27 |
| Buffalo City (East London) | 682,287 | 702,281 | 724,312 | -33.02/27.88 |
| Emfuleni (Vanderbijlpark) | .. | 658,420 | 650,867 | -26.70/27.84 |
| Msunduzi (Pietermaritzburg) | 521,805 | 552,837 | 616,730 | -29.63/30.39 |
| Thulamela - Thohoyandou | .. | 580,829 | 602,819 | -22.95/30.47 |
| Polokwane (Pietersburg) | .. | 508,277 | 561,772 | -24.08/29.32 |
| Mbombela (Nelspruit) | .. | 497,958 | 509,970 | -25.48/30.98 |
source: Statistics South Africa.
source: South African Cities Network.
note: between brackets are previous names or names of the main city within the urban area.
note: the population numbers refer to municipalities
| |