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Top 4 cities in South Africa with the best quality of life

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Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index reveals that Cape Town continues to lead South Africa as the city offering the best quality of life in 2025.

This comprehensive index evaluates cities based on critical factors, including purchasing power, pollution, housing affordability, safety, healthcare quality, cost of living, commute times, and climate conditions. A higher score indicates better living conditions, providing a comparative framework for assessing global and regional standards.

SOUTH AFRICA’S TOP CITIES WITH THE BEST QUALITY OF LIFE

  1. Cape Town – 160.2 (quality of life index)
  2. Pretoria – 157.9
  3. Durban – 149.0
  4. Johannesburg – 141.8

Cape Town maintains its reputation as the “Mother City,” offering a high quality of life despite its relatively higher cost of living compared to other South African cities.

COST OF LIVING: CAPE TOWN VS PRETORIA

While Cape Town leads in overall quality of life, its cost of living remains significantly higher than Pretoria’s, particularly in housing and dining expenses:

  • Cost of Living (excluding rent): Cape Town is 0.1% higher than Pretoria.
  • Cost of Living (including rent): Cape Town is 15.7% higher than Pretoria.
  • Rent Prices: Cape Town is 76.5% higher than Pretoria.
  • Restaurant Prices: Cape Town is 12.2% higher than Pretoria.
  • Grocery Prices: Cape Town is 0.9% higher than Pretoria.
  • Local Purchasing Power: Cape Town’s is 23.9% lower than Pretoria’s.

RENTAL COSTS: CAPE TOWN VS PRETORIA

RENT PER MONTH PRETORIA CAPE TOWN
1-bedroom apartment (city centre) R7,233.33 R13,967.74
1-bedroom apartment (outside centre) R6,609.09 R9,243.75
3-bedroom apartment (city centre) R12,944.44 R28,178.57
3-bedroom apartment (outside centre) R12,791.67 R18,446.67

Buying a property in Cape Town carries a hefty price tag compared to Pretoria with prices per square metre ranging between 79% and 145% more in the Western Province city.

MAKING MONEY IN THE MOTHER CITY

The average net salary after tax in Pretoria is R30,243 with Cape Town jobs paying slightly less at R26.632.

TOP 5 AFRICAN COUNTRIES WITH THE BEST QUALITY OF LIFE

Business Insider Africa has narrowed down the African countries that offer the best life.

South Africa remains the top African country in Numbeo’s Quality of Life Index for 2025, despite a slight dip in its overall score from 152.4 in 2023 to 136.9. Other notable African countries include:

  1. South Africa – 152.4
  2. Tunisia – 117.3
  3. Morocco – 110.8
  4. Kenya – 101.7
  5. Egypt – 85.3

The fluctuations in quality-of-life scores across African nations highlight the impact of economic shifts, climate changes, and socio-political factors on living standards.

BEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD

South Africa comes in at 39th place on the world map. The top five countries with the best quality of life include Luxembourg at number one followed by Netherlands, Denmark, Oman and Switzerland.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CITY IN SOUTH AFRICA?

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