Map of Richards Bay, South Africa

Richards Bay is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with a population of about 252,968. It lies at 28.7830°S, 32.0377°E. Richards Bay is about 509 km (316 mi) southeast of Pretoria, the capital. The nearest city on our map is eSikhaleni, 17 km to the southwest.

Richards Bay at a glance

Where is Richards Bay?

• The 26th largest city in South Africa by recorded population.
• The 4th largest city in KwaZulu-Natal on this site.
• Located in the Southern and Eastern hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 10 h 18 min on the shortest day to 13 h 59 min on the longest day (around 21 June and 21 December).

Cities near Richards Bay

• eSikhaleni — 17 km southwest
• Mtubatuba — 43 km north
• Mandeni — 73 km southwest
• KwaDukuza — 95 km southwest
• Durban — 154 km southwest
• Mondlo — 157 km northwest
• Pinetown — 161 km southwest
• Vryheid — 166 km northwest
• Mpumalanga — 178 km southwest
• Pietermaritzburg — 185 km southwest

Largest cities in KwaZulu-Natal

• Durban — 3,338,026
• Pietermaritzburg — 839,327
• Newcastle — 404,838
• KwaDukuza — 161,177
• Vryheid — 150,012
• Pinetown — 144,026
• Ladysmith — 143,446
• Mpumalanga — 140,121
• Dundee — 84,413
• Kokstad — 61,751

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.