Cape Town
2,455 km²
Guangzhou
7,434 km²
South Africa
China
Area Comparison
Cape Town is 3.0x smaller than Guangzhou
Population Comparison
Cape Town has 4.9x fewer people than Guangzhou
In terms of area, Guangzhou is 3.0x the size of Cape Town. Guangzhou spans 7,434 km² (2,870 mi²) while Cape Town covers 2,455 km² (948 mi²) — a difference of 4,979 km². You could fit Cape Town inside Guangzhou approximately 3 times.
To put Cape Town's size in perspective, its area of 2,455 km² is roughly the same size as Moscow. Meanwhile, Guangzhou at 7,434 km² is about 1.2x the size of Shanghai.
Picture Cape Town another way: its area is large enough to fit about 344,000 American football fields, 42 times the area of Manhattan, or 23 times the area of Paris. For Guangzhou, that's about 1,000,000 American football fields, 130 times the area of Manhattan, or 71 times the area of Paris.
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.
Known as "The Mother City", Cape Town covers 2,455 km² with a population of 3.8 million. The city was established in 1652. Cape Town is known for Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island, among other attractions.
Cape Town is South Africa's oldest city, founded in 1652 and home to the seat of the national Parliament.
Guangzhou, also known as Canton, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong in southern China. Located on the Pearl River, about 120 kilometres (75 mi) northwest of Hong Kong and 145 kilometres (90 mi) north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the Silk Road.
Often called "Canton", Guangzhou has an area of 7,434 km² and is home to 18.7 million people. It was founded around 214 BC. Visitors come for Canton Tower, Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, Shamian Island, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Guangzhou Metro.
Guangzhou boasts a history of over 2,200 years and served as a major terminus of the ancient Silk Road
Cape Town has a population density of 1,540 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. Guangzhou, with 2,513 people per km², is a moderately dense city. Guangzhou is noticeably denser, packing 1.6 times more people per square kilometer.
Size Ratio
Cape Town fits inside Guangzhou ~3 times
Density Gap
Guangzhou is 1.6x more densely populated
History
Guangzhou is ~1,866 years older
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).
Guangzhou covers 7,434 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Wuhan (8,569 km²), Perth (6,417 km²), Shanghai (6,341 km²), Melbourne (9,993 km²), or Xi'an (10,097 km²).
The straight-line distance from Cape Town to Guangzhou is 11,840 km (7,357 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~14h 26m.
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