Western Cape

The Western Cape (Afrikaans: Wes-Kaap [ˈvɛskɑːp]; Xhosa: eNtshona-Kapa; Khoekhoe: Huri!hub) is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is geographically the fourth largest of the country's nine provinces, with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7.43 million inhabitants in 2022. About two-thirds of the province's residents live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital, and South Africa's second-largest city. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George. The Western Cape is generally regarded as the best-run of South Africa's provinces, with a robust system of governance, proactive administration, high quality infrastructure, and strong political and civil accountability. The province also has South Africa's lowest unemployment rate, by a significant margin. As of the third quarter of 2023, the Western Cape's total real GDP was R656.27 billion, translating to 14.2% of South Africa's total GDP. The province has had the strongest-performing provincial economy in South Africa for a decade, with average annual growth rates well above the national average. Purchasing power is also strong in the Western Cape, with GDP per capita in the province significantly higher than the national average. Furthermore, the Western Cape has South Africa's highest secondary education graduation rate. In the 2024 Governance Performance Index (GPI), the Western Cape achieved the highest scores across all categories, by a large degree. Cape Town, the capital of the Western Cape, has the country'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.