What is the Capital City of South Africa?
South Africa is unique as it is the only country with three capitals. When asked what is the capital city of South Africa most people will name Pretoria. However Cape Town and Bloemfontein are official capital cities as well.
The Capitals of South Africa
South Africa’s three capital cities are strategically placed throughout the country and each of these cities host a separate segment of the country’s government.
Pretoria – the administrative capital.
The executive branch of the South African government is housed in Pretoria, this includes the office of the President and the Cabinet. A number of government departments as well as foreign embassies are in Pretoria. Pretoria is in the Northeast of South Africa, in the province of Gauteng and strategically close to the largest city in South Africa, Johannesburg. Johannesburg is the chief business and financial centre of the country.
Cape Town- the legislative capital.
Cape Town is the second largest city in South Africa and is home to the country’s legislative parliament, including the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces.
Bloemfontein -the judicial capital.
Bloemfontein is home to the Supreme Court of Appeal, the second-highest court in South Africa. However, the Constitutional Court (the highest court) is located in Johannesburg. Bloemfontein is located in the centre of South Africa in the Free State Province.
South Africa is further divided into nine provinces each with its own capital city.
- Gauteng: Johannesburg
- Western Cape: Cape Town
- Eastern Cape: Bhisho
- Free State: Bloemfontein
- KwaZulu-Natal: Pietermaritzburg
- Limpopo – Polokwane
- Mpumalanga: Nelspruit
- Northern Cape: Kimberley
- North West: Mahikeng (formerly Mafeking)
South Africa draws millions of tourists every year with the most popular places being Cape Town, with it’s attractions such as Table Mountain and The Cape Winelands,
and The Kruger National Park one of the largest national parks in the world, where nearly 2 million hectares of unrivaled diversity of life forms fuses with historical and archaeological sights thus providing a wildlife experience that competes with the best in the world.
All nine provinces of South Africa receive visitors year round and we will be exploring every nook and cranny of this awesome country on our website in due course.