Cape Town’s comparative advantage factors

Cape Town's economy is the second largest municipal economy in South Africa and the second most important contributor to national employment.

An overview

Cape Town is South Africa's best-run city:

Only metropolitan municipality to consistently receive clean audits from the Auditor-General of South Africa
Broke the record for capital expenditure for a South African municipality in 2025, spending R9,5 million
Over 200 000 households receive indigent benefits from the City – including an allocation of free water, free electricity, and property rates rebates.
The City has consistently maintained a “Fair” to “Good” public trust level rating over the past five years, reflecting stability in public sentiment.

We are:

Cape Town International Airport has been named the Skytrax’s Best Airport in Africa title for 11 consecutive years (since 2015)
Cape Town port handles over 350,000 shipping containers for export annually
service-driven economy with established business culture and clustering of financial institutions;
strategically positioned on the west coast of Africa;
a powerful skills pipeline; and
described as "the de facto software and technology hub in South Africa"

We have

good public transport linkages in the city;
the highest Moody credit rating (Ba2 positive outlook)of any SA municipality, reflecting financial soundness and governance
scenic beauty and natural sights that attract international visitors and make the city globally recognisable; and
three major universities in the metro region. One of these is the top ranked university in Africa, and the third highest ranked university in South Africa is located just outside the metro boundaries in the historic and beautiful town of Stellenbosch.

We service large agricultural surroundings and act as a processing, trade and retail hub for agricultural products.

Industries overview

The industries in which Cape Town has the most noticeable comparative advantage over other cities in the country are in fishing, clothing and textiles and food and beverage manufacturing.

Top tip

Cost of living: Visit the Mercer Cost of Living City Ranking to compare Cape Town's cost of living with that of other cities. In 2024 Cape Town was ranked 209 out of 226 Cities.

Other important industries in Cape Town include wood product manufacturing; retail; electronics; tourism, hospitality and events; financial services, fintech and business process outsourcing; information, medical and green/renewables technology; the creative industries; and real estate.

Priority sectors in our province:

IT and E-commerce
Boat building
Business Services
Film and New Media
Tourism
Financial Services
Green Economy
Food and Beverages
Clothing and Textiles

Please visit the Wesgro website for more information on these sectors.

Summary of CT regional ranking on competitiveness tables

Fast fact

Cape Town is home to Naspers, the world’s largest multi-media company outside of the United States and China with R600 billion ($38.7 billion) market capitalisation.

2025 Global Cities Index, AT Kearney

Overall ranking: 85 out of 158 global cities
31 out of 101 emerging cities
3rd among African cities

2025 Oxford Economics Global Cities Index

506th out of 1000 global cities
Ranking 86th out of the 1000 ranked cities in Human Capital

2024 Quality of Living Rankings, Mercer

Ranking: 103 out of 241 cities
3rd among African cities

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