Map of Mthatha, South Africa

Mthatha is a city in Eastern Cape, South Africa, with a population of about 164,848. It lies at 31.5889°S, 28.7844°E. Mthatha is about 652 km (405 mi) south of Pretoria, the capital. The nearest city on our map is Butterworth, 102 km to the southwest.

Mthatha at a glance

Where is Mthatha?

• The 36th largest city in South Africa by recorded population.
• The 5th largest city in Eastern Cape on this site.
• Located in the Southern and Eastern hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 10 h 05 min on the shortest day to 14 h 13 min on the longest day (around 21 June and 21 December).

Cities near Mthatha

• Butterworth — 102 km southwest
• Kokstad — 131 km northeast
• Quthing — 168 km northwest, Lesotho
• Stutterheim — 168 km southwest
• Margate — 171 km northeast
• Mdantsane — 177 km southwest
• East London — 179 km southwest
• Queenstown — 184 km west
• Port Shepstone — 185 km northeast
• Bhisho — 188 km southwest

Largest cities in Eastern Cape

• Port Elizabeth — 1,050,078
• East London — 478,676
• Uitenhage — 291,052
• Mdantsane — 205,504
• Bhisho — 137,287
• Queenstown — 118,599
• King William’s Town — 93,072
• Grahamstown — 91,548
• Graaff Reinet — 62,896
• Fort Beaufort — 58,419

Largest cities in South Africa

• Johannesburg — 9,418,183
• Cape Town — 4,772,846
• Durban — 3,338,026
• Pretoria — 2,112,693
• Soweto — 1,695,047
• Port Elizabeth — 1,050,078
• Pietermaritzburg — 839,327
• Benoni — 605,344
• Bloemfontein — 556,637
• Tembisa — 511,655

Map of South Africa and all its cities →

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.