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Radio stations by province

South African radio is intensely local. Pick a province to see the commercial, public and community stations broadcasting there, plus the national services you can hear anywhere in the country.

National 1 stations · Countrywide Stations heard across all of South Africa — the SABC national and language services plus the big commercial networks. Gauteng 17 stations · Johannesburg Johannesburg and Pretoria stations — the busiest radio market in the country, from talk and news to amapiano and house. Western Cape 10 stations · Cape Town Cape Town, the Boland and the Garden Route, including community radio in Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa. KwaZulu-Natal 6 stations · Pietermaritzburg Durban and KZN stations, strong on isiZulu talk, gospel, maskandi and gqom. Eastern Cape 3 stations · Bhisho Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), East London and Mthatha stations serving the Eastern Cape. Free State 2 stations · Bloemfontein Bloemfontein and Free State stations, from campus radio to Afrikaans and Sesotho community broadcasters. Limpopo 4 stations · Polokwane Polokwane and Limpopo stations broadcasting in Sepedi, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and English. Mpumalanga 2 stations · Mbombela Mbombela (Nelspruit) and Lowveld stations serving Mpumalanga listeners. North West 1 stations · Mahikeng Rustenburg, Klerksdorp and Mahikeng stations serving the North West province. Northern Cape 0 stations · Kimberley Kimberley, Upington and Northern Cape community stations.

How radio is organised in South Africa

Three tiers share the airwaves. The SABC runs the public broadcaster's national and language services. Commercial stations hold regional licences — mostly clustered around Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban but heard well beyond them. Then there are the community stations: hundreds of small licensees serving one town, one campus or one language group, and collectively the largest slice of the dial.

Online, that geography loosens up. A Limpopo station is as easy to reach from Cape Town as the one down the road, which is exactly what makes a directory useful — browse the full list or search by name.

Other radio websites

Listening from a neighbouring country? These are the official broadcasters' own sites.