What Is the Capital of South Africa? Pretoria

Q: Is Pretoria the largest city in South Africa?

No. The largest urban area is Johannesburg (10.3 million).

Q: What time zone is Pretoria in?

Pretoria is on UTC+2 — UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). There is no daylight saving time.

Q: Which capital is closest to Pretoria?

Among the capitals of neighbouring countries, Gaborone (Botswana) is the closest, 262 km away in a straight line.

Pretoria at a glance

Why several capitals?

Pretoria is the administrative capital. Cape Town is the legislative capital. Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.

Name origin

Pretoria was named in honor of Boer statesman Andries PRETORIUS in 1855; Cape Town's name refers to its location on the Cape of Good Hope; Bloemfontein was named after the farm on which it was built in 1846, whose name combined the Dutch words bloem (flower) and fontein (fountain).

Time zone

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). No daylight saving time.

Coordinates

25 42 S, 28 13 E · IANA time zone Africa/Johannesburg

Location of South Africa

Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Largest cities in South Africa

1

Johannesburg

10.3 million

2

Cape Town

4.9 million

3

Durban

3.2 million

4

Pretoria

2.8 million

5

Port Elizabeth

1.3 million

6

West Rand

934,000

Urban-area population · CIA World Factbook (public domain)

Capitals of neighbouring countries

Capitals closest to Pretoria

Straight-line distance between capitals.

Frequently asked questions about Pretoria

What is the capital of South Africa?

South Africa has 3 capitals: Pretoria (administrative capital), Cape Town (legislative capital) and Bloemfontein (judicial capital).

Is Pretoria the largest city in South Africa?

No. The largest urban area is Johannesburg (10.3 million).

What time zone is Pretoria in?

Pretoria is on UTC+2 — UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time). There is no daylight saving time.

Where does the name Pretoria come from?

Pretoria was named in honor of Boer statesman Andries PRETORIUS in 1855; Cape Town's name refers to its location on the Cape of Good Hope; Bloemfontein was named after the farm on which it was built in 1846, whose name combined the Dutch words bloem (flower) and fontein (fountain).

Which capital is closest to Pretoria?

Among the capitals of neighbouring countries, Gaborone (Botswana) is the closest, 262 km away in a straight line.

Data: CIA World Factbook (public domain); population: World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0).

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