<P> The metropolitan municipality is similar to the consolidated city - county in the USA, although a South African metropolitan municipality is created by notice of the provincial government, not by agreement between district and local municipalities . </P> <P> Metropolitan municipalities were brought about so that cities could be governed as single entities . This had not been possible under the fragmented local government structures of apartheid . A key demand of anti-apartheid civics in the 1980s was for' one city, one tax base' in order to facilitate distribution of funds to areas of highest need . Local government reform after apartheid produced six Transitional Metropolitan Councils following the 1995 / 6 local government elections . These were characterized by a two - tier structure . From 2000, these six Metropolitan Councils were restructured into their final single - tier form . In 2011, Buffalo City (East London) and Mangaung (Bloemfontein) were added to the category of metropolitan municipality . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Name </Th> <Th> Code </Th> <Th> Province </Th> <Th> Seat </Th> <Th> Area (km) </Th> <Th> Population (2016) </Th> <Th> Pop . density (per km) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> BUF </Td> <Td> Eastern Cape </Td> <Td> East London </Td> <Td> 2,750 </Td> <Td> 834,997 </Td> <Td> 303.6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> CPT </Td> <Td> Western Cape </Td> <Td> Cape Town </Td> <Td> 2,446 </Td> <Td> 4,005,016 </Td> <Td> 1,637.6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> JHB </Td> <Td> Gauteng </Td> <Td> Johannesburg </Td> <Td> 1,645 </Td> <Td> 4,949,347 </Td> <Td> 3,008.8 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> TSH </Td> <Td> Gauteng </Td> <Td> Pretoria </Td> <Td> 6,298 </Td> <Td> 3,275,152 </Td> <Td> 520.0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> EKU </Td> <Td> Gauteng </Td> <Td> Germiston </Td> <Td> 1,975 </Td> <Td> 3,379,104 </Td> <Td> 1,710.6 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> ETH </Td> <Td> KwaZulu - Natal </Td> <Td> Durban </Td> <Td> 2,556 </Td> <Td> 3,702,231 </Td> <Td> 1,448.5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> MAN </Td> <Td> Free State </Td> <Td> Bloemfontein </Td> <Td> 9,886 </Td> <Td> 787,803 </Td> <Td> 79.7 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality </Td> <Td> NMA </Td> <Td> Eastern Cape </Td> <Td> Port Elizabeth </Td> <Td> 1,957 </Td> <Td> 1,263,051 </Td> <Td> 645.4 </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Name </Th> <Th> Code </Th> <Th> Province </Th> <Th> Seat </Th> <Th> Area (km) </Th> <Th> Population (2016) </Th> <Th> Pop . density (per km) </Th> </Tr>

Names of the metropolitan municipalities in south africa