Vhembe is one of the 6
districtsSouth Africa is divided into 52 districts . The 12th amendment to the Constitution reduced this number from 53. Another effect of this amendment is that each district is now completely contained within a province, thus eliminating cross-border districts. The districts also cover the entire area of...
of
LimpopoLimpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Pietersburg, now renamed to Polokwane. The province was formed from the northern region of the Transvaal province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...
province of
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in
Matabeleland SouthMatabeleland South is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 54,172 km² and a population of approximately 650,000 . Gwanda is the capital of the province.- Geography :...
,
ZimbabweZimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
. The seat of Vhembe is
ThohoyandouThohoyandou is the administrative and legislative centre for the Venda region in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Previously, it was the capital of the Bantustan of Venda.-History:...
. The majority of its 1 199 856 people speak
VendaVenda, also known as ', or ', is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in South Africa, but there are also speakers in Zimbabwe...
(2001
CensusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
). The district code is DC34.
Vhembe was originally settled by now-expired tribes of
KhoisanKhoisan is a unifying name for two major ethnic groups of Southern Africa. Historically, they have been referred to as the Capoid race because they can be visually distinguished from most other sub-Saharan Africans by way of their relatively lighter skin color and their epicanthic folds...
peoples. It was later settled by the
Venda peopleThe Venda are a Southern African people living mostly near the South African-Zimbabwean border.- History :The Venda were originally from either the Congo or the Great Rift Valley, migrating across the Limpopo river during the Bantu expansion....
(recently migrated from what is now Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe), who constitute a majority of the population of Vhembe today.
Vhembe is one of the 6
districtsSouth Africa is divided into 52 districts . The 12th amendment to the Constitution reduced this number from 53. Another effect of this amendment is that each district is now completely contained within a province, thus eliminating cross-border districts. The districts also cover the entire area of...
of
LimpopoLimpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Pietersburg, now renamed to Polokwane. The province was formed from the northern region of the Transvaal province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...
province of
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in
Matabeleland SouthMatabeleland South is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 54,172 km² and a population of approximately 650,000 . Gwanda is the capital of the province.- Geography :...
,
ZimbabweZimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
. The seat of Vhembe is
ThohoyandouThohoyandou is the administrative and legislative centre for the Venda region in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Previously, it was the capital of the Bantustan of Venda.-History:...
. The majority of its 1 199 856 people speak
VendaVenda, also known as ', or ', is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in South Africa, but there are also speakers in Zimbabwe...
(2001
CensusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
). The district code is DC34.
History
Vhembe was originally settled by now-expired tribes of
KhoisanKhoisan is a unifying name for two major ethnic groups of Southern Africa. Historically, they have been referred to as the Capoid race because they can be visually distinguished from most other sub-Saharan Africans by way of their relatively lighter skin color and their epicanthic folds...
peoples. It was later settled by the
Venda peopleThe Venda are a Southern African people living mostly near the South African-Zimbabwean border.- History :The Venda were originally from either the Congo or the Great Rift Valley, migrating across the Limpopo river during the Bantu expansion....
(recently migrated from what is now Matabeleland South in Zimbabwe), who constitute a majority of the population of Vhembe today. The
Dzata ruinsThe Dzata Ruins are an archaeological site in Makhado municipality, Vhembe district, in the north of South Africa.Scholars who have made a study of the various legends and traditions associated with the ruins, find it clear that the they are many contradictions. Archaeological evidence has shed...
in Thulamela local municipality once served as the main settlement and capital of the Venda empire which had dominated the area during the 18th century.
Boer settlement of the territory began in the late 18th century and gradually upsurged throughout the 19th century. By the turn of the century, the Soutpansberg was taken by the Boers from the Venda rulers, making it one of the last areas in the future republic of South Africa to come under white rule. During the apartheid era, the
bantustanA bantustan, 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 apartheid...
of
VendaVenda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. The bordering countries were Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, Colony of Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and bordered South Africa. Now part of Limpopo...
(declared independent in 1973) was established in the eastern part of the Vhembe area, and was reintegrated into the country at the end of white minority in 1994. The former bantustan capital, Thohoyandou (named after a chief that had led the expansion of the Venda empire in the 18th century) is the current capital of the Vhembe district.
On December 11, 2008, Vhembe was declared a disaster zone by the Limpopo government due to the spread of cholera across the Zimbabwean border to the district.
Neighbours
Vhembe is surrounded by:
- the republic of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers...
to the north
- Mopani
Mopani is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of Mopani is Giyani. The majority of its 964 195 people speak Tsonga or Northern Sotho . The district code is DC33...
(DC33) to the east
- Capricorn
Capricorn is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The district is named after the Tropic of Capricorn which runs through it. The seat of Capricorn is Polokwane. The majority of its 1 154 673 people speak Northern Sotho...
(DC35) to the south-west
- Waterberg
Waterberg is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of Waterberg is Modimolle. The majority of its 614 139 people speak Northern Sotho . The district code is DC36.-Geography:...
(DC36) to the west
Local municipalities
The district contains the following
local municipalitiesIn South Africa, a local municipality or Category B municipality is a type of municipality that serves as the third, and most local, tier of local government...
:
| Local municipality |
Population |
% |
| Thulamela |
584 568 |
48.72% |
| Makhado |
497 093 |
41.43% |
| Mutale |
78 917 |
6.58% |
| Musina |
39 308 |
3.28% |
Demographics
The following statistics are from the 2001
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
.
| Language |
Population |
% |
| Venda Venda, also known as ', or ', is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in South Africa, but there are also speakers in Zimbabwe...
|
818 900 |
68.25% |
| Tsonga The Tsonga or Xitsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan.- Classification :Tsonga belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo languages. The language of the Tsonga people is wrongly called Xichangana because we were under the Leadership of...
|
316 703 |
26.40% |
| Northern Sotho Northern Sotho is one of the official languages of South Africa, and is spoken by 4,208,980 people —in the South African provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo Province and...
|
27 922 |
2.33% |
| Afrikaans Afrikaans is an Indo-European language derived from Dutch and thus classified as Low Franconian West Germanic. It is mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia, with smaller numbers of speakers living in Botswana, Angola, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand, the United...
|
13 697 |
1.14% |
| Sotho |
7 714 |
0.64% |
| Other |
5 942 |
0.50% |
| English English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
|
4 545 |
0.38% |
| Ndebele The Southern Ndebele language is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, and spoken by the amaNdebele . There are two dialects of Southern Ndebele in South Africa:* the Northern Transvaal Ndebele or Nrebele...
|
1 763 |
0.15% |
ZuluZulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population . It became one of South Africa's eleven official...
|
870 |
0.07% |
| Tswana Tswana , is a Bantu language written in the Latin Alphabet. English is the national and majority language of Botswana, whose people are the Batswana . Although English is the official language of Botswana, the majority of speakers also understand Setswana. There are also speakers in Zimbabwe and...
|
840 |
0.07% |
XhosaXhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when...
|
659 |
0.05% |
| Swati The Swati or Swazi language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Swaziland and South Africa. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 1.5 million. The language is taught in Swaziland and some South African schools in Mpumalanga and KaNgwane areas...
|
331 |
0.03% |
Zimbabwean migrants
Vhembe also possesses a large Zimbabwean migrant community that has fled the deteriorating socioeconomic situation in their home country.
Gender
| Gender |
Population |
% |
| Female |
662 815 |
55.24% |
| Male |
537 041 |
44.76% |
Ethnic group
| Ethnic group |
Population |
% |
| Black African |
1 181 672 |
98.48% |
| White |
13 625 |
1.14% |
| Indian/Asian |
2 911 |
0.24% |
| Coloured |
1 648 |
0.14% |
Age
| Age |
Population |
% |
| 000 - 004 |
138 819 |
11.57% |
| 005 - 009 |
168 212 |
14.02% |
| 010 - 014 |
172 151 |
14.35% |
| 015 - 019 |
158 249 |
13.19% |
| 020 - 024 |
112 396 |
9.37% |
| 025 - 029 |
86 070 |
7.17% |
| 030 - 034 |
66 722 |
5.56% |
| 035 - 039 |
61 542 |
5.13% |
| 040 - 044 |
50 114 |
4.18% |
| 045 - 049 |
39 894 |
3.32% |
| 050 - 054 |
30 735 |
2.56% |
| 055 - 059 |
21 051 |
1.75% |
| 060 - 064 |
20 919 |
1.74% |
| 065 - 069 |
22 289 |
1.86% |
| 070 - 074 |
22 201 |
1.85% |
| 075 - 079 |
11 353 |
0.95% |
| 080 - 084 |
10 429 |
0.87% |
| 085 - 089 |
3 682 |
0.31% |
| 090 - 094 |
1 880 |
0.16% |
| 095 - 099 |
750 |
0.06% |
| 100 plus |
398 |
0.03% |
Election results
Election results for Vhembe in the
South African general election, 2004Legislative elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 April 2004. The African National Congress of President Thabo Mbeki, which came to power after the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority....
.
- Population 18 and over: 621 522 [51.80% of total population]
- Total votes: 386 629 [32.22% of total population]
- Voting % estimate: 62.21% votes as a % of population 18 and over
| Party |
Votes |
% |
African National CongressThe African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a "disciplined...
|
348 768 |
90.21% |
Democratic AllianceThe Democratic Alliance is a South African political party, the governing party in the Western Cape province, and the official opposition to the ruling African National Congress. The party was formed when the Democratic Party entered into a short-lived alliance with the New National Party and a...
|
15 553 |
4.02% |
| United Democratic Movement |
5 821 |
1.51% |
African Christian Democratic PartyThe African Christian Democratic Party is a political party in South Africa . It was founded in 1993 and represents conservative Christians, and social conservatives. As such the party concentrates mostly on social issues such as abortion, homosexuality and pornography.The leader of the party is...
|
4 687 |
1.21% |
| Pan African Congress Pan African Congress can refer to:* Pan-African Congress, a series of five meetings held between 1919 and 1945* Pan Africanist Congress, the South African political party...
|
2 875 |
0.74% |
New National PartyThe New National Party was a South African conservative political party formed in 1997 when the National Party pulled out of the Government of National Unity with the African National Congress and decided to change its name in the process. The name change was an attempt to distance itself from its...
|
2 098 |
0.54% |
| Azanian People's Organisation The Azanian People's Organisation, or AZAPO is a South African political organisation. Its inspiration is drawn from the Black Consciousness Movement philosophies developed by Steve Biko, Onkgopotse Tiro and Vuyelwa Mashalaba....
|
1 767 |
0.46% |
| Independent Democrats |
916 |
0.24% |
| Freedom Front Plus |
864 |
0.22% |
Inkhata Freedom PartyThe Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it is led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
|
585 |
0.15% |
United Christian Democratic PartyThe United Christian Democratic Party is a minor political party in South Africa. It is led by former Bophuthatswana Bantustan leader Lucas Mangope....
|
469 |
0.12% |
| NA |
359 |
0.09% |
| SOPA |
336 |
0.09% |
| PJC |
301 |
0.08% |
| EMSA |
282 |
0.07% |
| CDP |
258 |
0.07% |
| TOP |
198 |
0.05% |
| UF |
191 |
0.05% |
| KISS |
129 |
0.03% |
| NLP |
92 |
0.02% |
| Minority Front |
80 |
0.02% |
| Total |
386 629 |
100.00% |