The nine provinces of South Africa
South Africa has nine provinces, each with its own history, landscape, population, languages, economy, cities and government.
The economies of South Africa’s nine provinces
Finance is the biggest industry in Gauteng and the Western Cape. Mining dominates in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Northern Cape. KwaZulu-Natal’s major industry is manufacturing. In the Eastern Cape and Free State, it’s government services.
What languages are spoken in South Africa’s nine provinces?
The home language of most people in KwaZulu-Natal is, unsurprisingly, isiZulu. In the Eastern Cape it’s isiXhosa. Around half the people of the Western Cape and Northern Cape speak Afrikaans. In Gauteng and Mpumalanga, no single language dominates.
Moving to the city: Provincial migration in South Africa from 2002 to 2017
South Africans migrate to where the jobs are. They move from poorer provinces to the richer ones, and from rural areas to the cities.
Creative Commons images of South Africa
Creative Commons is a licensing system that frees creative works for others to publish and transform. The commons drives some of the best projects on the internet, including Wikipedia and South African History Online. Here’s a selection of free and open images of South Africa.
Gallery: Free State province, South Africa
The Free State’s complicated history has played out across its varied landscape, which runs from the Maloti Mountains in the east through flat central farmlands to the Karoo desert regions in the west and south.
The provinces and ‘homelands’ of South Africa before 1996
Before South Africa’s 1996 constitution, the country was divided into four provinces set aside for white people, and 10 “homelands”, tiny states designated for black people.
Infographic: The land area of South Africa’s nine provinces
South Africa has nine provinces, which vary in size from the small city region of Gauteng – home to more than a quarter of the population – to the great Northern Cape, by far the largest province but with the smallest population.
Infographic: Local government in the Free State
Local government in the Free State is organised into five major municipalities. One is metropolitan, and the other four district municipalities. The districts are further divided into 19 local municipalities.
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