South Africa is divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, known as Bantustans, were reintegrated into the country, and the four provinces were increased to nine. The borders of Natal and the Orange Free State were retained, while the Cape Province and Transvaal were divided into three provinces each, plus North West Province which straddles the border of and contains territory from both these two former provinces. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the Constitution of South Africa changed the borders of seven of the provinces.
| Provinces of South Africa | |
|---|---|
 North West Northern Cape Gauteng Limpopo Mpumalanga Free State KwaZulu-Natal Eastern Cape Western Cape | |
| Category | Regional state |
| Location | South Africa |
| Created |
|
| Number | 9 Provinces |
| Populations | 1,355,946 (Northern Cape) – 15,099,422 (Gauteng) |
| Areas | 18,178 km2 (7,019 sq mi) (Gauteng) – 372,889 km2 (143,973 sq mi) (Northern Cape) |
| Government |
|
| Subdivisions |
|
History
The Union of South Africa was established in 1910 by combining four British colonies: Cape Colony; Natal Colony; Transvaal Colony; Orange River Colony. The last two were, before the Second Boer War, independent republics known as the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. These colonies became the four original provinces of the Union: Cape Province; Transvaal Province; Natal Province; Orange Free State Province.
Segregation of the black population started as early as 1913, with ownership of land by the black majority being restricted to certain areas totalling about 13% of the country. From the late 1950s, these areas were gradually consolidated into "homelands", also called "bantustans". Four of these homelands were established as quasi-independent nation states of the black population during the apartheid era. In 1976, the homeland of Transkei was the first to accept independence from South Africa, and although this independence was never acknowledged by any other country, three other homelands – Bophuthatswana (1977), Venda (1979) and Ciskei (1981) – followed suit.
On 27 April 1994, the date of the first non-racial elections and of the adoption of the Interim Constitution, all of these provinces and homelands were dissolved, and nine new provinces were established. The boundaries of these provinces were established in 1993 by a Commission on the Demarcation/Delimitation of Regions created by CODESA, and were broadly based on planning regions demarcated by the Development Bank of Southern Africa in the 1980s, and amalgamated from existing magisterial districts, with some concessions to political parties that wished to consolidate their power bases, by transferring districts between the proposed provinces. The definitions of the new provinces in terms of magisterial districts were found in Schedule 1 of the Interim Constitution.
On 11 July 2003, the 11th amendment to the fifth constitution renamed the Northern Province to Limpopo. On 1 March 2006, the 12th and 13th amendments altered the boundaries of 7 provinces. On 3 April 2009 the 16th amendment altered the boundaries of the North West and Gauteng provinces.
Government
South Africa's provinces are governed, in different ways, on a national, provincial and local level.
Nationally, there is the National Council of Provinces, one of the houses of Parliament. Then there is the provincial government and, below that, the administration of district and metropolitan municipalities.
National Council of Provinces
South Africa has two houses of parliament: the National Assembly, and the National Council of Provinces. The second exists to ensure that the interests of each province are protected in the laws passed by the National Assembly.
Each one of South Africa's nine provinces sends 10 representatives to the National Council of Provinces. Six of these are permanent members of the council, and four are special delegates.
Provincial government
Each province is governed by a unicameral legislature. The size of the legislature is proportional to population, ranging from 30 members in the Northern Cape to 80 in KwaZulu-Natal. The legislatures are elected every five years by a system of party-list proportional representation; by convention, they are all elected on the same day, at the same time as the National Assembly election.
The provincial legislature elects, from amongst its members, a Premier, who is the head of the executive. The Premier chooses an Executive Council consisting of between five and ten members of the legislature, which is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Members of the Executive Council (MECs) are the provincial equivalent of ministers.
The powers of the provincial government are limited to specific topics listed in the national constitution. On some of these topics – for example, agriculture, education, health and public housing – the province's powers are shared with the national government, which can establish uniform standards and frameworks for the provincial governments to follow; on other topics the provincial government has exclusive power.
The provinces do not have their own court systems, as the administration of justice is the responsibility of the national government.
List
| Province | Name in the most spoken native language | Capital | Largest city | Area: 9 | Population (2022) | Density (2022) | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | iMpuma-Kapa (Xhosa) | Bhisho (Bisho) | Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) | 168,966 km2 (65,238 sq mi) | 7,230,204 | 42.8/km2 (111/sq mi) |  |
| Free State | Freistata (Sotho) | Bloemfontein | 129,825 km2 (50,126 sq mi) | 2,964,412 | 22.8/km2 (59/sq mi) |  | |
| Gauteng | eGoli (Zulu) | Johannesburg | 18,178 km2 (7,019 sq mi) | 15,099,422 | 830.6/km2 (2,151/sq mi) |  | |
| KwaZulu-Natal | iKwaZulu-Natali (Zulu) | Pietermaritzburg | Durban | 94,361 km2 (36,433 sq mi) | 12,423,907 | 131.7/km2 (341/sq mi) |  |
| Limpopo | Limpopo (Pedi) | Polokwane (Pietersburg) | 125,754 km2 (48,554 sq mi) | 6,572,720 | 52.3/km2 (135/sq mi) |  | |
| Mpumalanga | iMpumalanga (Swazi) | Mbombela (Nelspruit) | 76,495 km2 (29,535 sq mi) | 5,143,324 | 67.2/km2 (174/sq mi) |  | |
| North West | Bokone Bophirima (Tswana) | Mahikeng (Mafikeng) | Rustenburg | 104,882 km2 (40,495 sq mi) | 3,804,548 | 36.3/km2 (94/sq mi) |  |
| Northern Cape | Noord-Kaap (Afrikaans) | Kimberley | 372,889 km2 (143,973 sq mi) | 1,355,946 | 3.6/km2 (9.3/sq mi) |  | |
| Western Cape | Wes-Kaap (Afrikaans) | Cape Town | 129,462 km2 (49,986 sq mi) | 7,433,019 | 57.4/km2 (149/sq mi) |  | |
| Republic of South Africa | iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika (Zulu) | Pretoria, Bloemfontein Cape Town | Johannesburg | 1,220,813 km2 (471,359 sq mi) | 62,027,503 | 50.8/km2 (132/sq mi) |  |
Footnotes:
- Pietermaritzburg and Ulundi were joint capitals of KwaZulu-Natal from 1994 to 2004.
- These statistics do not include the Prince Edward Islands (335 km2 or 129 sq mi, with no permanent residents), which are South African territories in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean but part of the Western Cape for legal and electoral purposes.
- Parliament sits in Cape Town, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, and the Executive branch in Pretoria.
Provincial acronyms
| Province | HASC | ISO | FIPS | CSS | Conventional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | ZA.EC | EC | SF05 | 02 | EC |
| Free State | ZA.FS | FS | SF03 | 04 | FS |
| Gauteng | ZA.GT | GP | SF06 | 07 | GP |
| KwaZulu-Natal | ZA.NL | KZN | SF02 | 05 | KZN |
| Limpopo | ZA.NP | LP | SF09 | 09 | LP |
| Mpumalanga | ZA.MP | MP | SF07 | 08 | MP |
| Northern Cape | ZA.NC | NC | SF08 | 03 | NC |
| North-West | ZA.NW | NW | SF10 | 06 | NW |
| Western Cape | ZA.WC | WC | SF11 | 01 | WC |
| Notes HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes | |||||
Former administrative divisions
| Province | Capital | Peak population | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape of Good Hope (1910–1994) | Cape Town | 6,125,335 |  |
| Natal (1910–1994) | Pietermaritzburg | 2,430,753 |  |
| Orange Free State (1910–1994) | Bloemfontein | 2,193,062 |  |
| Transvaal (1910–1994) | Pretoria | 9,491,265 |  |
| Homelands | Capital | Peak population | Location |
| Bophuthatswana (1977–1994) † | Mmabatho | 1,478,950 |  |
| Ciskei (1972–1994) † | Bisho | 677,920 |  |
| Gazankulu (1971–1994) | Giyani | 954,771 |  |
| KaNgwane (1981–1994) | Louieville Schoemansdal (de facto) | 779,240 |  |
| KwaNdebele (1981–1994) | KwaMhlanga | 404,246 |  |
| KwaZulu (1981–1994) | Nongoma (until 1980) Ulundi (1980–1994) | 5,524,774 |  |
| Lebowa (1972–1994) | Lebowakgomo | 2,740,587 |  |
| QwaQwa (1974–1994) | Phuthaditjhaba | 342,886 |  |
| Transkei (1976–1994) † | Umtata | 2,323,650 |  |
| Venda (1979–1994) † | Thohoyandou | 558,797 |  |
| Mandates | Capital | Peak population | |
| South West Africa | Windhoek | 1,415,000 |
Footnotes:
- † States for which the homeland was quasi-independent.
See also
- Elections in South Africa
- List of municipalities in South Africa
- List of renamed places in South Africa
- List of South African provinces by Human Development Index
- Members of the Executive Council (MEC)
- Municipalities of South Africa
- Premier (South Africa)
- Prince Edward Islands
- Proposals for South Africa to annex Lesotho
- Provincial governments of South Africa
- Provincial legislature (South Africa)
- Telephone numbers in South Africa
- Vehicle registration plates of South Africa
- Walvis Bay
- ISO 3166-2:ZA
Transportation
- List of national routes in South Africa
- List of provincial routes in South Africa
- List of regional routes in South Africa
- List of Metropolitan Routes in South Africa
- Metropolitan Routes in East London
- Metropolitan Routes in Cape Town
- Metropolitan Routes in Johannesburg
- Metropolitan Routes in Pretoria
- Metropolitan Routes in Durban
- Metropolitan Routes in Bloemfontein
- Metropolitan Routes in Port Elizabeth
- Metropolitan Routes in Pietermaritzburg
- Numbered routes in South Africa
References
- "The nine provinces of South Africa - South Africa Gateway". South Africa Gateway. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- Nel, JH; Krygsman, SC; de Jong, T (2008). "The identification of possible future provincial boundaries for South Africa based on an intramax analysis of journey-to-work data" (PDF). ORiON. 24 (2): 131-156. doi:10.5784/24-2-64 – via CORE.
- Phillips, Laura (27 July 2017). "History of South Africa's Bantustans". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.80. ISBN 978-0-19-027773-4.
- "The Boundaries of a New South Africa". Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- Muthien, Yvonne G.; Khosa, Meshack M. (1995). "'The kingdom, the Volkstaat and the New South Africa': Drawing South Africa's new regional boundaries". Journal of Southern African Studies. 21 (2): 303–322. doi:10.1080/03057079508708448.
- "The nine provinces of South Africa - South Africa Gateway". South Africa Gateway. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- "Provincial Government of South Africa". Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, "Chapter 6: Provinces". Sections 104 and 146.
- http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2011/census_products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf, p. 25.
- Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. p. 30. ISBN 9780621413885. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.
- Census 2022: Statistical release (PDF) (Report). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2023. p. 3.
- "How Many Capital Cities Does South Africa Have?".
- "South African Provinces".
South Africa is divided into nine provinces On the eve of the 1994 general election South Africa s former homelands known as Bantustans were reintegrated into the country and the four provinces were increased to nine The borders of Natal and the Orange Free State were retained while the Cape Province and Transvaal were divided into three provinces each plus North West Province which straddles the border of and contains territory from both these two former provinces The twelfth thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the Constitution of South Africa changed the borders of seven of the provinces Provinces of South AfricaNorth West Northern Cape Gauteng Limpopo Mpumalanga Free State KwaZulu Natal Eastern Cape Western CapeCategoryRegional stateLocationSouth AfricaCreated27 April 1994 1994 04 27 Number9 ProvincesPopulations1 355 946 Northern Cape 15 099 422 Gauteng Areas18 178 km2 7 019 sq mi Gauteng 372 889 km2 143 973 sq mi Northern Cape GovernmentProvincial government National governmentSubdivisionsDistricts Metropolitan municipalityHistoryThe provinces at the creation of the Union in 1910 The Union of South Africa was established in 1910 by combining four British colonies Cape Colony Natal Colony Transvaal Colony Orange River Colony The last two were before the Second Boer War independent republics known as the South African Republic and the Orange Free State These colonies became the four original provinces of the Union Cape Province Transvaal Province Natal Province Orange Free State Province Provinces and homelands as they were at the end of apartheid Segregation of the black population started as early as 1913 with ownership of land by the black majority being restricted to certain areas totalling about 13 of the country From the late 1950s these areas were gradually consolidated into homelands also called bantustans Four of these homelands were established as quasi independent nation states of the black population during the apartheid era In 1976 the homeland of Transkei was the first to accept independence from South Africa and although this independence was never acknowledged by any other country three other homelands Bophuthatswana 1977 Venda 1979 and Ciskei 1981 followed suit On 27 April 1994 the date of the first non racial elections and of the adoption of the Interim Constitution all of these provinces and homelands were dissolved and nine new provinces were established The boundaries of these provinces were established in 1993 by a Commission on the Demarcation Delimitation of Regions created by CODESA and were broadly based on planning regions demarcated by the Development Bank of Southern Africa in the 1980s and amalgamated from existing magisterial districts with some concessions to political parties that wished to consolidate their power bases by transferring districts between the proposed provinces The definitions of the new provinces in terms of magisterial districts were found in Schedule 1 of the Interim Constitution On 11 July 2003 the 11th amendment to the fifth constitution renamed the Northern Province to Limpopo On 1 March 2006 the 12th and 13th amendments altered the boundaries of 7 provinces On 3 April 2009 the 16th amendment altered the boundaries of the North West and Gauteng provinces GovernmentJohannesburg City Hall now the seat of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature South Africa s provinces are governed in different ways on a national provincial and local level Nationally there is the National Council of Provinces one of the houses of Parliament Then there is the provincial government and below that the administration of district and metropolitan municipalities National Council of Provinces South Africa has two houses of parliament the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces The second exists to ensure that the interests of each province are protected in the laws passed by the National Assembly Each one of South Africa s nine provinces sends 10 representatives to the National Council of Provinces Six of these are permanent members of the council and four are special delegates Provincial government Each province is governed by a unicameral legislature The size of the legislature is proportional to population ranging from 30 members in the Northern Cape to 80 in KwaZulu Natal The legislatures are elected every five years by a system of party list proportional representation by convention they are all elected on the same day at the same time as the National Assembly election The provincial legislature elects from amongst its members a Premier who is the head of the executive The Premier chooses an Executive Council consisting of between five and ten members of the legislature which is the cabinet of the provincial government The Members of the Executive Council MECs are the provincial equivalent of ministers The powers of the provincial government are limited to specific topics listed in the national constitution On some of these topics for example agriculture education health and public housing the province s powers are shared with the national government which can establish uniform standards and frameworks for the provincial governments to follow on other topics the provincial government has exclusive power The provinces do not have their own court systems as the administration of justice is the responsibility of the national government ListProvince Name in the most spoken native language Capital Largest city Area 9 Population 2022 Density 2022 MapEastern Cape iMpuma Kapa Xhosa Bhisho Bisho Gqeberha Port Elizabeth 168 966 km2 65 238 sq mi 7 230 204 42 8 km2 111 sq mi Free State Freistata Sotho Bloemfontein 129 825 km2 50 126 sq mi 2 964 412 22 8 km2 59 sq mi Gauteng eGoli Zulu Johannesburg 18 178 km2 7 019 sq mi 15 099 422 830 6 km2 2 151 sq mi KwaZulu Natal iKwaZulu Natali Zulu Pietermaritzburg Durban 94 361 km2 36 433 sq mi 12 423 907 131 7 km2 341 sq mi Limpopo Limpopo Pedi Polokwane Pietersburg 125 754 km2 48 554 sq mi 6 572 720 52 3 km2 135 sq mi Mpumalanga iMpumalanga Swazi Mbombela Nelspruit 76 495 km2 29 535 sq mi 5 143 324 67 2 km2 174 sq mi North West Bokone Bophirima Tswana Mahikeng Mafikeng Rustenburg 104 882 km2 40 495 sq mi 3 804 548 36 3 km2 94 sq mi Northern Cape Noord Kaap Afrikaans Kimberley 372 889 km2 143 973 sq mi 1 355 946 3 6 km2 9 3 sq mi Western Cape Wes Kaap Afrikaans Cape Town 129 462 km2 49 986 sq mi 7 433 019 57 4 km2 149 sq mi Republic of South Africa iRiphabhuliki yaseNingizimu Afrika Zulu Pretoria Bloemfontein Cape Town Johannesburg 1 220 813 km2 471 359 sq mi 62 027 503 50 8 km2 132 sq mi Footnotes Pietermaritzburg and Ulundi were joint capitals of KwaZulu Natal from 1994 to 2004 These statistics do not include the Prince Edward Islands 335 km2 or 129 sq mi with no permanent residents which are South African territories in the sub Antarctic Indian Ocean but part of the Western Cape for legal and electoral purposes Parliament sits in Cape Town the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein and the Executive branch in Pretoria Provincial acronyms Province HASC ISO FIPS CSS ConventionalEastern Cape ZA EC EC SF05 02 ECFree State ZA FS FS SF03 04 FSGauteng ZA GT GP SF06 07 GPKwaZulu Natal ZA NL KZN SF02 05 KZNLimpopo ZA NP LP SF09 09 LPMpumalanga ZA MP MP SF07 08 MPNorthern Cape ZA NC NC SF08 03 NCNorth West ZA NW NW SF10 06 NWWestern Cape ZA WC WC SF11 01 WCNotes HASC Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes ISO Province codes from ISO 3166 2 For full identification in a global context prefix ZA to the code FIPS Codes from FIPS PUB 10 4 a U S government standard CSS Province codes used by the Central Statistical Service of South Africa Former administrative divisionsProvince Capital Peak population LocationCape of Good Hope 1910 1994 Cape Town 6 125 335Natal 1910 1994 Pietermaritzburg 2 430 753Orange Free State 1910 1994 Bloemfontein 2 193 062Transvaal 1910 1994 Pretoria 9 491 265Homelands Capital Peak population LocationBophuthatswana 1977 1994 Mmabatho 1 478 950Ciskei 1972 1994 Bisho 677 920Gazankulu 1971 1994 Giyani 954 771KaNgwane 1981 1994 Louieville Schoemansdal de facto 779 240KwaNdebele 1981 1994 KwaMhlanga 404 246KwaZulu 1981 1994 Nongoma until 1980 Ulundi 1980 1994 5 524 774Lebowa 1972 1994 Lebowakgomo 2 740 587QwaQwa 1974 1994 Phuthaditjhaba 342 886Transkei 1976 1994 Umtata 2 323 650Venda 1979 1994 Thohoyandou 558 797Mandates Capital Peak populationSouth West Africa Windhoek 1 415 000 Footnotes States for which the homeland was quasi independent See alsoElections in South Africa List of municipalities in South Africa List of renamed places in South Africa List of South African provinces by Human Development Index Members of the Executive Council MEC Municipalities of South Africa Premier South Africa Prince Edward Islands Proposals for South Africa to annex Lesotho Provincial governments of South Africa Provincial legislature South Africa Telephone numbers in South Africa Vehicle registration plates of South Africa Walvis Bay ISO 3166 2 ZATransportation List of national routes in South Africa List of provincial routes in South Africa List of regional routes in South Africa List of Metropolitan Routes in South Africa Metropolitan Routes in East London Metropolitan Routes in Cape Town Metropolitan Routes in Johannesburg Metropolitan Routes in Pretoria Metropolitan Routes in Durban Metropolitan Routes in Bloemfontein Metropolitan Routes in Port Elizabeth Metropolitan Routes in Pietermaritzburg Numbered routes in South AfricaReferences The nine provinces of South Africa South Africa Gateway South Africa Gateway 6 April 2018 Retrieved 14 April 2018 Nel JH Krygsman SC de Jong T 2008 The identification of possible future provincial boundaries for South Africa based on an intramax analysis of journey to work data PDF ORiON 24 2 131 156 doi 10 5784 24 2 64 via CORE Phillips Laura 27 July 2017 History of South Africa s Bantustans Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History doi 10 1093 acrefore 9780190277734 013 80 ISBN 978 0 19 027773 4 The Boundaries of a New South Africa Archived from the original on 18 August 2018 Retrieved 18 August 2018 Muthien Yvonne G Khosa Meshack M 1995 The kingdom the Volkstaat and the New South Africa Drawing South Africa s new regional boundaries Journal of Southern African Studies 21 2 303 322 doi 10 1080 03057079508708448 The nine provinces of South Africa South Africa Gateway South Africa Gateway 6 April 2018 Retrieved 14 April 2018 Provincial Government of South Africa Retrieved 20 November 2017 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 Chapter 6 Provinces Sections 104 and 146 http www statssa gov za census census 2011 census products Census 2011 Census in brief pdf p 25 Census 2011 Census in brief PDF Pretoria Statistics South Africa 2012 p 30 ISBN 9780621413885 Archived PDF from the original on 13 May 2015 Census 2022 Statistical release PDF Report Pretoria Statistics South Africa 2023 p 3 How Many Capital Cities Does South Africa Have South African Provinces
