The Eastern Cape The Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga The Northern Cape North West The Western Cape

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1 Geography and climate The nine provinces of South Africa South Africa has nine provinces, each with its own legislature, premier and executive council - and distinctive landscape, population, economy and climate. They are: The Eastern Cape The Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga The Northern Cape North West The Western Cape Before 1994, South Africa had four provinces: the Transvaal and Orange Free State, previously Boer republics, and Natal and the Cape, once British colonies. Scattered about were also the grand apartheid "homelands", spurious states to which black South Africans were forced to have citizenship. A map of South Africa before 1994, showing the original four provinces of the Cape, Orange Free State, Natal and Transvaal, as well as the grand apartheid "homelands" (Image: South African History Online)

2 Under South Africa's new democratic constitution the four provinces were broken up into the current nine, and the "homelands" blinked out of existence. The Cape became the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and the western half of North West, while the Transvaal became Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the eastern half of North West. Natal was renamed KwaZulu-Natal, incorporating the "homeland" of KwaZulu, and the Orange Free State became simply the Free State. Land area There are vast differences in the size of the provinces, from tiny and crowded Gauteng to the vast, arid and empty Northern Cape. Mpumalanga is the second-smallest province after Gauteng, with the rest all taking between 8% and 14% of South Africa's total land area: Land area by province Eastern Cape square kilometres Free State square kilometres Gauteng square kilometres KwaZulu-Natal square kilometres Limpopo square kilometres Mpumalanga square kilometres Northern Cape square kilometres North West square kilometres Western Cape square kilometres (Data source: Statistics South Africa) South Africa's geography Population The number of people living in the provinces also varies considerably. KwaZulu- Natal, the third-smallest province, has the largest population, and tiny Gauteng the second-largest. By contrast the Northern Cape, which takes up nearly a third of South Africa's land area, has by far the smallest population. The mid-2006 population estimates for all nine provinces are: Eastern Cape million

3 Free State million Gauteng million KwaZulu-Natal million Limpopo million Mpumalanga million Northern Cape - 1-million North West million Western Cape million Population by province (Data source: Statistics South Africa) This variation translates into huge differences in population density. Gauteng has an average of 576 people per square kilometre, while the Northern Cape is extremely roomy, with only three people for each square kilometre. Population density by province (Number of people per square kilometre) (Data source: Statistics South Africa) South Africa's population by province Languages Although English is the lingua franca of South Africa, there's considerable variation in home languages between the provinces. IsiXhosa, for instance, is spoken by more than 80% of people in the Eastern Cape, while almost 80% of those in KwaZulu-Natal speak isizulu. IsiZulu is also the most common home

4 language in Gauteng, but at a much smaller percentage. In Cape Town and its surrounds, Afrikaans comes into its own. Predominant languages by province (2001 figures, rounded off) are: Eastern Cape - isixhosa (83%), Afrikaans (9%) Free State - Sesotho (64%), Afrikaans (12%) Gauteng - isizulu (21%), Afrikaans (14%), Sesotho (13%), English (12%) KwaZulu-Natal - isizulu (81%), English (13%) Limpopo - Sepedi (52%), Xitsonga (22%), Tshivenda (16%) Mpumalanga - siswati (31%), isizulu (26%), isindebele (12%) Northern Cape - Afrikaans (68%), Setswana (21%) North West - Setswana (65%), Afrikaans (7%) Western Cape - Afrikaans (55%), English (19%), isixhosa (23%) The languages of South Africa Government Each province has its own provincial government, with legislative power vested in a provincial legislature and executive power vested in a provincial premier and exercised together with the other members of a provincial executive council. The legislature has between 30 and 80 members elected for a five-year term based on the province s portion of the national voters roll. The legislature is empowered to pass legislation within its functional areas The premier is elected by the legislature and, as with the President at national level, is limited to two five-year terms in office. The premier appoints the other members of the executive council (MECs), which functions as a cabinet at provincial level. The members of the executive council are accountable individually and collectively to the legislature. Provincial government Economy Population density correlates with the provinces' slice of South Africa's economy, with Gauteng having the biggest. The tiny province punches way above its weight, contributing 33.3% to the national gross domestic product and a phenomenal 10% to the GDP of Africa as a whole. Next is KwaZulu-Natal with 16.7%, followed by the Western Cape with 14.4%.

5 Provincial contribution to national GDP Find out more about South Africa's nine provinces: SouthAfrica.info reporter The Eastern Cape The Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga The Northern Cape North West The Western Cape (Data source: Statistics South Africa) Want to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material A satellite image of South Africa (Image: Nasa)

6 South Africa's nine provinces (Image: Mary Alexander) Related links Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West Western Cape Related articles The languages of South Africa SA's population by province South Africa's population Maps of South Africa South Africa's geography Provincial government South Africa's provinces The nine provinces of South Africa Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Northern Cape North West

7 Western Cape EASTERN CAPE Capital: Bisho Major city: Port Elizabeth Languages: 83.4% isixhosa, 9.3% Afrikaans, 3.6% English Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 14.6% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 13.9% Population density: 41 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R88-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 8.1% FREE STATE Capital: Bloemfontein Languages: 64.4% Sesotho, 11.9% Afrikaans, 9.1% isixhosa Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 6.2% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 10.6% Population density: 23 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R69-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 5.5% GAUTENG Capital: Johannesburg Languages: 21.5% isizulu, 14.4% Afrikaans, 13.1% Sesotho, 12.5% English Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 20.1% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 1.4% Population density: 576 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R413.6-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 33.3% KWAZULU-NATAL Capital: Pietermaritzburg Major city: Durban Languages: 80.9% isizulu, 73.6% English, 1.5% Afrikaans Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 20.9% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 7.7% Population density: 105 people per square kilometre

8 Gross regional product: R206.8-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 16.7% LIMPOPO Capital: Polokwane Languages: 52.1% Sesotho, 22.4% Xitsonga, 15.9% Tshivenda Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 11.3% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 10.3% Population density: 43 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R81.3-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 6.7% MPUMALANGA Capital: Nelspruit Languages: 30.8% siswati, 26.4% isizulu, 12.1% isindebele Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 7.4% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 6.3% Population density: 46 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R87.5-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 6.8% NORTHERN CAPE Capital: Kimberley Languages: 68% Afrikaans, 20.8% Setswana, 2.5% English Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 2.3% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 30.5% Population density: 3 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R29.7-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 2.4% NORTH WEST Capital: Mafikeng Major city: Potchefstroom Languages: 65.4% Setswana, 7.5% Afrikaans, 5.8% isixhosa Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 7.1% Area: square kilometres Share of total SA area: 8.7% Population density: 32 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R81.4-billion (2003) Share of total SA GDP: 6.3%

9 WESTERN CAPE Capital: Cape Town Languages: 55.3% Afrikaans, 23.7% isixhosa, 19.3% English Population: (2006) Share of total SA population: 10% Area: square kilometres Share of total area: 10.6% Population density: 37 people per square kilometre Gross regional product: R181-billion (2003) Share of total GDP: 14.5% search About South Africa Animals and plants Arts and culture Democracy Education Geography and climate Government Health care History and heritage Media People Science and technology Social development Sustainable development Sport Doing business with SA Travelling to South Africa Services for South Africans South Africans abroad News and events 2010 Fifa World Cup Africa gateway Nelson Mandela Photo galleries SA Community Get SA-active! Find new ways of tackling our challenges! MediaClubSouthAfrica

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