Cape Town: The driving force behind the Western Cape's economy

Cape Town Metro leads the Western Cape economy, generating 72.0% of the Provincial Gross Domestic Product per Region in 2024.

The City of Cape Town continues to be the economic engine of the Western Cape accounting for 72% of the Gross Domestic Product per Region (PGDR) and 62.8% of the province’s employment in 2024.

This is according to the 2025/26 Municipal Economic Review and Outlook (MERO) that was presented by the Provincial Treasury in the legislature on Tuesday.

The MERO report, first tabled in the provincial legislature by Finance MEC Deidré Baartman in March, says the Metro’s GDPR reached R666.3 billion in 2024.

While employment totalled 1.6 million jobs, the Metro also experienced 24,125 jobs losses and its unemployment rate stood at 25.2% during the same period.