Provinces of South Africa

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Provinces of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election

South African general election, 1994

The South African general election of 1994 was a general election held in South Africa at the end of apartheid, therefore also the first held with universal suffrage....
, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. In December 2005 the 12th amendment of the constitution

Constitution of South Africa

The current and official Constitution of the Republic of South Africa was adopted on 8 May 1996. It is the supreme Law of South Africa of South Africa....
changed the borders of seven of the provinces*. The provinces are as follows: *On 18 August 2006 the Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court of South Africa

The South African Constitutional Court was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democracy constitution: the South African Interim Constitution of 1993....
ruled that the part of the 12 amendment dealing with the transfer of Matatiele

Matatiele, KwaZulu-Natal

Matatiele is a mid-sized town serving the farming and trading communities of East Griqualand in the foothills of the western Drakensberg, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 20 km from the southern border of Lesotho....
from KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal , often referred to as "KZN", is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. Prior to 1994 the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the Natal Province and all pieces of territory that made up the homeland of KwaZulu....
to the Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, as well as the eastern portion of the Cape Province....
was unconstitutional due to insufficient consultation.

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South Africa

South African general election, 1994

Constitution of South Africa

Constitutional Court of South Africa

Matatiele, KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal

Eastern Cape

Province	Capital	Abbreviation	Area (km²)	Largest city	Population
Western Cape Western Cape The Western Cape is a Provinces of South Africa in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the huge Cape Province.... ¹	Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial Capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislature capital of South Africa, where the Parliament of South Africa and many government offices are located....	WC	129,370	Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial Capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislature capital of South Africa, where the Parliament of South Africa and many government offices are located....	4,839,800
Northern Cape Northern Cape The Northern Cape is a large, sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa of South Africa, created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up....	Kimberley	NC	361,830	Kimberley	1,102,200
Eastern Cape Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, as well as the eastern portion of the Cape Province....	Bhisho	EC	169,580	Port Elizabeth	6,906,200
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal , often referred to as "KZN", is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. Prior to 1994 the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the Natal Province and all pieces of territory that made up the homeland of KwaZulu....	Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city of the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was founded in 1838. Popularly called Maritzburg, and abbreviated PMB, it is home to a campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and is a major producer of aluminium as well as timber and dairy products.... ²	KZN, KZ, or KN	92,100	Durban Durban Durban is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality . It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa....	10,014,500
Free State Free State The Free State is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. The name is a popular contraction of the previous name the Orange Free State. Its capital is Bloemfontein which is also South Africa's judicial capital....	Bloemfontein Bloemfontein Bloemfontein The city is situated on dry grassland at , at an altitude of 1,395 metres above sea level. The city is home to 369,568 residents, while the Mangaung Local Municipality has a population of 645,455....	FS	129,480	Bloemfontein Bloemfontein Bloemfontein The city is situated on dry grassland at , at an altitude of 1,395 metres above sea level. The city is home to 369,568 residents, while the Mangaung Local Municipality has a population of 645,455....	2,965,600
North West North West (South African province) North West is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. Its capital is Mafikeng....	Mafikeng Mafikeng Mafikeng , "The City of Goodwill", is the capital of the North West Province of South Africa. Located on South Africa's border with Botswana, it is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg....	NW	116,320	Rustenburg	3,394,200
Gauteng Gauteng Gauteng is a Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994....	Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg also known as Joburg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the province Capital of Gauteng the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa....	GP or GT	17,010	Johannesburg Johannesburg Johannesburg also known as Joburg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the province Capital of Gauteng the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa....	9,688,100
Mpumalanga Mpumalanga Mpumalanga, , is a Provinces of South Africa South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Nguni languages....	Nelspruit Nelspruit Nelspruit is a city of 221,474 people situated in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province . Located on the Crocodile River , Nelspruit lies about 100 kilometres west of the Mozambique border and 330 kilometres east of Johannesburg....	MP	79,490	Nelspruit Nelspruit Nelspruit is a city of 221,474 people situated in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province . Located on the Crocodile River , Nelspruit lies about 100 kilometres west of the Mozambique border and 330 kilometres east of Johannesburg....	3,536,300
Limpopo Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly called Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of the Transvaal province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal....	Polokwane Polokwane Polokwane is a city, municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province in South Africa....	LP	123,900	Polokwane Polokwane Polokwane is a city, municipality and the capital of the Limpopo province in South Africa....	5,402,900

¹: The Prince Edward Islands

Prince Edward Islands

The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are politically part of South Africa. As a group of two islands, the Prince Edward Islands are located at ....
are a South African territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean, for legal purposes considered to be part of the Western Cape.

²: Pietermaritzburg and Ulundi shared being capital of KwaZulu-Natal during 1994–2004.

History

Since the establishing of the Union of South Africa

Union of South Africa

The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day state of the Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910, with the previously separate colonies of the Cape Colony, Colony of Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State, plus the German South-West Africa colony in 1915, becoming Provinces in the Union of...
in 1910, South Africa had four provinces consisting of the divisions which existed prior to the Second Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902, between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Fre...
: two British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
colonies (the Cape Colony

Cape Colony

The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by French Revolution, so that the French revolutionaries could not take possession of...
and Natal Colony) and two Boer

Boer

Boer is the Dutch language word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking pastoralists of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State, Transvaal and to a lesser extent Natal Pro...
republics (the Orange Free State

Orange Free State

The Republic of the Orange Free State was an independent Boere-Afrikaner republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British Orange River Colony and a Provinces of South Africa of the Union of South Africa....
and Transvaal Republic). Segregation of the black

Black people

Black people is a term usually referring to a Race of humans with a dark skin color, but the term has also been used to categorise a number of diverse populations into one common group....
population started as early as 1913, with ownership of land by the black majority being restricted to certain areas totaling about 13% of the country. From the late 1950s, these areas were gradually consolidated into "homeland

Homeland

A homeland is the concept of the territory to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular nationality began....
s" or "bantustan

Bantustan

A bantustan or euphemistically black african homeland or simply homeland, was territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South-West Africa , as part of the policy of South Africa under apartheid....
s," which served as the de jure
De jure

De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".The terms de jure and de facto are used instead of "in principle" and "in practice", respectively, when one is describing politics or legal situations....
national states of the black population during the apartheid era. In 1976, the homeland of Transkei

Transkei

The Transkei?which means "the area beyond the Kei River"?is a region situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is also the name of an Apartheid-era Bantustan corresponding to this territory....
was the first to accept independence

Independence

Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty....
from South Africa, and although this independence was never acknowledged by any other country, three other homelands followed suit.

Provinces from 1910 to 1994

Cape Province
Cape Province

The Cape of Good Hope Province was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Colony, and had Cape Town as its capital....
(Cape Town
Cape Town

Cape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the City of Cape Town. It is the provincial Capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislature capital of South Africa, where the Parliament of South Africa and many government offices are located....
)
Natal
Natal Province

Natal, meaning Christmas in Portuguese language, was a name given by the Portuguese people Vasco da Gama to the place after he had arrived on ship on the 25th of December and found the African Royal King Menzi Xaba and his people celebrating the birth of a king, Nkayishana, Menzi's son....
(Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city of the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was founded in 1838. Popularly called Maritzburg, and abbreviated PMB, it is home to a campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and is a major producer of aluminium as well as timber and dairy products....
)
Orange Free State
Orange Free State

The Republic of the Orange Free State was an independent Boere-Afrikaner republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British Orange River Colony and a Provinces of South Africa of the Union of South Africa....
(Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein

Bloemfontein The city is situated on dry grassland at , at an altitude of 1,395 metres above sea level. The city is home to 369,568 residents, while the Mangaung Local Municipality has a population of 645,455....
)
Transvaal
Transvaal

File:Flag of Transvaal.svgFile:Transvaal map.pngFile:Spelterini Transvaal.jpgThe Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa....
(Pretoria
Pretoria

Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three Capital , serving as the Executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislature capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital....
)

Independent Homelands

These Independent Homelands were known as the TBVC States.

Transkei
Transkei

The Transkei?which means "the area beyond the Kei River"?is a region situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is also the name of an Apartheid-era Bantustan corresponding to this territory....
(Mthatha
Mthatha

Mthatha is the main town of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town has an airport, previously known by the name K D Matanzima Airport after former leader Kaiser Matanzima....
). Declared independent in 1976.
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana

Bophuthatswana was a bantustan in the northwest of South Africa. It had a surface area of approximately 40 000 km? and consisted of seven enclaves dispersed over the former South African provinces of Cape Province, Transvaal and Orange Free State....
(Mmabatho
Mmabatho

Mmabatho is the former capital of the North West Province of South Africa. In the apartheid era, it was the capital of the former "Bantustan" of Bophuthatswana....
). Declared independent in 1977.
Venda
Venda

Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo Province province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language....
(Thohoyandou
Thohoyandou

Thohoyandou is the administrative and legislative centre for this Venda region in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Previously, it was the capital of the Bantustan of Venda....
). Declared independent in 1979
Ciskei
Ciskei

Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It consisted 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province and possessing a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
(Bhisho). Declared independent in 1981.

Non-Independent Homelands

Gazankulu
Gazankulu

Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Shangaan. It was carved out of the former Transvaal Province and given self-rule in 1971, with its capital at Giyani....
(Giyani
Giyani

Giyani is a town in the Limpopo province in north eastern South Africa, and former capital of the Gazankulu bantustan. Giyani is located in the heart of Limpopo Bushveld, on the northern bank of the Klein Letaba River west of Kruger National Park....
)
KaNgwane
KaNgwane

KaNgwane was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Swazi people. Formerly called the "Swazi Territory", the homeland was granted nominal self-rule in 1981....
(Louieville)
KwaNdebele
KwaNdebele

KwaNdebele was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Matabele people. The homeland was created when the South African government purchased nineteen white-owned farms and installed a government....
(Siyabuswa
Siyabuswa

Siyabuswa is a town in the countryside of the South African province of Mpumalanga . During the apartheid era, Siyabuswa was the Capital of the KwaNdebele Bantustan....
)
KwaZulu
KwaZulu

KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
(Ulundi)
Lebowa
Lebowa

Lebowa was a bantustan located in the Transvaal in north eastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed....
(Lebowakgomo
Lebowakgomo

Lebowakgomo was the capital of the former non-independent black state of Lebowa. Lebowakgomo lies southeast of the Limpopo town of Polokwane. The township was established in 1974 for blacks, and was enlarged and developed in the early 1980s....
)
Qwaqwa
QwaQwa

QwaQwa was a Bantustan, or homeland, in the eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho....
(Phuthaditjhaba
Phuthaditjhaba

Phuthaditjhaba is a town in the Free State province of South Africa. The frequent snow on the Drakensberg mountain peaks surrounding the town led the San to call the region Qwa-Qwa ....
)

Provinces of South Africa

History

Provinces from 1910 to 1994

Independent Homelands

Non-Independent Homelands

See also