Brisbane
15,826 km²
Cape Town
2,455 km²
Australia
South Africa
Area Comparison
Brisbane is 6.4x larger than Cape Town
Population Comparison
Brisbane has 1.4x fewer people than Cape Town
In terms of area, Brisbane is 6.4x the size of Cape Town. Brisbane spans 15,826 km² (6,110 mi²) while Cape Town covers 2,455 km² (948 mi²) — a difference of 13,371 km². You could fit Cape Town inside Brisbane approximately 6 times.
To put Brisbane's size in perspective, its area of 15,826 km² is about 2.5x the size of Shanghai. Meanwhile, Cape Town at 2,455 km² is roughly the same size as Moscow.
Picture Brisbane another way: its area is large enough to fit about 2,200,000 American football fields, 150 times the area of Paris, or 130 times the area of San Francisco. Cape Town works out to about 344,000 American football fields, 42 times the area of Manhattan, or 23 times the area of Paris.
Brisbane is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Queensland and the third-most populous city in Australia, with a population of approximately 2.8 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of South East Queensland, a bio-geographical and urban region with an estimated population of 4.1 million as of 2024. The central business district is situated within a peninsula of the Brisbane River approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from its mouth at Moreton Bay.
Known as "Brissy", Brisbane covers 15,826 km² with a population of 2.7 million. The city was established in 1824. Brisbane is known for Brisbane River, South Bank Parklands, Story Bridge, among other attractions.
Brisbane is Queensland's capital and Australia's third-most populous city with around 2.8 million residents.
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.
Often called "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.
Brisbane has a population density of 171 people per km² — a low-density, sprawling urban area. Cape Town, with 1,540 people per km², is a relatively spread-out city. Cape Town is dramatically more crowded, with 9.0x the population density.
Size Ratio
Cape Town fits inside Brisbane ~6 times
Density Gap
Cape Town is 9.0x more densely populated
History
Cape Town is ~172 years older
Brisbane covers 15,826 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Beijing (16,411 km²), Hangzhou (16,854 km²), Chengdu (14,378 km²), Sydney (12,368 km²), or Xi'an (10,097 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 Brisbane to Cape Town is 11,680 km (7,258 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~14h 14m.
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