Barcelona
101 km²
Cape Town
2,455 km²
Spain
South Africa
Area Comparison
Barcelona is 24.3x smaller than Cape Town
Population Comparison
Barcelona has 2.3x fewer people than Cape Town
Cape Town is significantly larger, covering 24.3 times the area of Barcelona. Cape Town spans 2,455 km² (948 mi²) while Barcelona covers 101 km² (39 mi²) — a difference of 2,354 km². You could fit Barcelona inside Cape Town approximately 24 times.
To put Barcelona's size in perspective, its area of 101 km² is roughly the same size as Paris (city proper). Meanwhile, Cape Town at 2,455 km² is roughly the same size as Moscow.
Barcelona's footprint is roughly about 14,000 American football fields, 50 times the area of Monaco, or 30 times the area of Central Park — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. Cape Town, by comparison, equals about 344,000 American football fields, 42 times the area of Manhattan, or 23 times the area of Paris.
Barcelona is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.7 million within city limits, its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the province of Barcelona and is home to around 5.7 million people, making it the fifth most populous urban area of the European Union after Paris, the Ruhr area, Madrid and Milan.
Known as "Ciutat Comtal", Barcelona covers 101 km² with a population of 1.7 million. The city was founded around 230 BC. Barcelona is known for Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, La Rambla, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the Barcelona Metro (TMB).
Barcelona is the second-most populous municipality in Spain and the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia.
Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's second-largest city by population, after Johannesburg, and the largest city in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
Also known as "The Mother City", Cape Town has an area of 2,455 km² and is home to 3.8 million people. The city dates back to 1652. Visitors come for Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island, and much more.
Cape Town is South Africa's oldest city, founded in 1652 and home to the seat of the national Parliament.
Barcelona has a population density of 16,436 people per km² — an extremely dense urban environment. Cape Town, with 1,540 people per km², is a relatively spread-out city. Barcelona is dramatically more crowded, with 10.7x the population density.
Size Ratio
Barcelona fits inside Cape Town ~24 times
Density Gap
Barcelona is 10.7x more densely populated
History
Barcelona is ~1,882 years older
Barcelona covers 101 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Lisbon (100 km²), Paris (105 km²), Copenhagen (91 km²), Vancouver (115 km²), or Zurich (88 km²).
Cape Town covers 2,455 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Moscow (2,511 km²), Lima (2,672 km²), Tokyo (2,194 km²), Ho Chi Minh City (2,061 km²), or Shenzhen (1,997 km²).
The straight-line distance from Barcelona to Cape Town is 8,538 km (5,305 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~10h 33m.
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