Durban (Zulu: eThekwini) is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa. It is also a major centre of tourism due to the city’s warm subtropical climate and beaches.

According to the 2007 Community Survey, the city has a population of almost 3.5 million.^[2] Durban’s land area of 2,292 square kilometres (884.9 sq mi) is comparatively larger than other South African cities, resulting in a somewhat lower population density of 1,513 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,918.7/sq mi).^[1]

Durban is one of the host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and is the host of an A1GP motor race, driven on a street track. It is rumoured that Durban will bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2020 Summer Olympics

Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad; Xhosa: iKapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many government offices are located. Cape Town is famous for its harbour as well as its natural setting in the Cape floral kingdom, including such well-known landmarks as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is one of the most popular South African destinations for tourism.^{[citation needed]}

Cape Town was originally developed as a victualling (supply) station for Dutch ships sailing to Eastern Africa, India, and the Far East more than 200 years before the construction of the Suez Canal in 1869.^{[citation needed]} Jan van Riebeeck‘s arrival on 6 April 1652 established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town quickly outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope. It was the largest city in South Africa until the growth of Johannesburg.

According to the 2007 Community Survey, the city has a population of 3.5 million.^[3] Cape Town’s land area of 2,455 square kilometres (948 sq mi) is larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of 1,425 people per square kilometre (3,689/sq mi).^[2] Cape Town is twinned with Nice in France and Haifa in Israel.

Johannesburg (pronounced /jō-hān’ĭs-bûrg’/) is the largest and most populous city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa. The city is one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world ([1]), it is Africa’s most advanced city, and one of Africa’s only two global cities, the other being Cairo according to the Globalization and World Cities group’s 1999 inventory, which classified it as a gamma world city)^[3]. While Johannesburg does not form one of South Africa’s three capital cities, it does house the Constitutional Court – South Africa’s highest court.

Johannesburg is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills. Johannesburg is also served by O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air travel to and from the rest of southern Africa.

According to the 2007 Community Survey, The population of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area is almost eight million. The population of the municipal city is almost 4 million. Johannesburg’s land area of 1,645 square kilometres (635 sq mi) is very large when compared to other cities, resulting in a population density of 2,364 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,123/sq mi). Johannesburg also encompasses Soweto to the south west, a township that the apartheid government established to accommodate the large number of migrant workers. It should be noted that Johannesburg and Pretoria are beginning to act as one functional entity, connecting the province of Gauteng together and forming one Megacity of roughly 10 million people.

Gauteng (as a city) is growing rapidly, due to mass urbanisation that is a feature of many developing countries. According to the State of the Cities Report, the urban portion of Gauteng – comprised primarily of the cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni (the East Rand) and Tshwane (greater Pretoria) – will be a polycentric urban region with a projected population of some 14.6 million people by 2015, making it one of the largest cities in the world.