Western cape

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Wes-Kaap
Western Cape
Ntshona-Koloni
Western cape
Namibia Botswana Simbabwe Mosambik Swasiland Lesotho Limpopo (Provinz) Gauteng Mpumalanga Nordwest (Südafrika) KwaZulu-Natal Freistaat (Provinz) Ostkap Nordkap (Provinz) Westkaplocation
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Symbols
coat of arms
coat of arms
Basic data
Country South Africa
Capital Cape Town
surface 129,462 km²
Residents 5,822,734 (2011)
density 45 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2 ZA toilet
Website www.westerncape.gov.za (English)
politics
prime minister Alan Winds
Political party THERE

Coordinates: 34 ° 0 ′  S , 20 ° 0 ′  E

Western Cape ( Afrikaans : Wes-Kaap , English: Western Cape , isiXhosa : Ntshona-Koloni ) is a South African province in the southwest of the republic. It borders both the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean . The province was formed in 1994 from parts of the former Cape Province and is divided into six districts with 24 parishes. The capital of Western Cape is Cape Town . The province also includes the Prince Edward Islands .

With an index value of 0.733 in 2015, the Western Cape has the highest human development index of any province in the country.

geography

Western Cape with Prince Edward Islands

The province is 129,462 km² in size, making it a little over a tenth the size of South Africa . It extends from the Cape of Good Hope about 400 km north and about 500 km east along the coasts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In the north, the Western Cape is bordered by the North Cape Province and in the east by the Eastern Cape Province .

Both topographically and climatically, the Western Cape is very diverse. Most of the province is characterized by a warm, temperate climate with cool, humid winters and hot, dry summers, comparable to the Mediterranean climate.

The cold Benguela current has a cooling effect on the climate at the Cape of Good Hope, so that the Western Cape is suitable for viticulture despite its northern location .

Districts with the parishes

Western Cape with its districts (2016)

The province is divided into the following ten districts with 43 local parishes and one metropolitan municipality :

District / Metropolitan Municipality Communities
1. Cape Winelands Breede Valley , Drakenstein , Langeberg , Stellenbosch and Witzenberg
2. Garden Route Bitou , George , Hessequa , Kannaland , Knysna , Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn
3. Overberg Cape Agulhas , Overstrand , Swellendam and Theewaterskloof
4th West coast Bergrivier , Cederberg , Matzikama , Saldanha Bay and Swartland
5. Central Karoo Beaufort West , Laingsburg and Prince Albert
6th City of Cape Town Metropolitan municipality

Demographics

Population density in the Western Cape Province (2011):
  • <1 / km²
  • 1-3 / km²
  • 3-10 / km²
  • 10-30 / km²
  • 30-100 / km²
  • 100-300 / km²
  • 300-1000 / km²
  • 1000-3000 / km²
  • > 3000 / km²
  • Distribution of languages ​​in the Western Cape (2001 census):
  • no dominant language
  • According to the 2011 census, there were 5,822,734 people in the Western Cape Province. According to the 2001 census, there were only 4,524,336 people. The population density in 2001 was 34.97 inhabitants / km² with very different settlement densities. The dominant language of the province was Afrikaans (55.3%), followed by Xhosa (23.7%), English (19.3%, mostly in the Cape Town area) and others (<2%).

    The residents Western Cape as Colored: 2011 described themselves 48.8% (53.9% in 2001) ( Colored ), 32.8% (2001: 26.7%) than blacks (African), 15.7% (2001: 18 , 4%) as whites and 1.0% (2001: 2.0%) as Indians or Asians.

    Population development

    The following overview shows the population by area since the 1996 census.

            year         population
    1996 (census) 3,956,875
    2001 (census) 4,524,335
    2011 (census) 5,822,734
    2018 (estimate) 6,621,100

    politics

    Distribution of seats in the provincial parliament of the Western Cape:
  • DA (24)
  • ANC (12)
  • EFF (2)
  • Good (1)
  • ACDP (1)
  • VF + (1)
  • Al Jama-ah (1)
  • In the 2019 elections to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament , the DA remained the strongest party in the Western Cape Province despite losses. Western Cape has been the only South African province since 2009 that is not politically dominated by the ANC. The mandates are distributed as follows.

    Political party Seats +/-
    Democratic Alliance (DA) 24 −2
    African National Congress (ANC) 12 −2
    Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) 2 +1
    Good 1 +1
    African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) 1 ± 0
    Vryheidsfront Plus (VF +) 1 +1
    Al Jama-ah 1 +1
    total 42

    Education and culture

    The province has four universities: Stellenbosch University , the University of Cape Town , the University of the Western Cape in Bellville and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town. It also has the only opera house in South Africa that is open all year round, the Cape Town Opera .

    National parks and nature reserves

    National parks

    Nature reserves

    • Garcia Nature Reserve
    • Goukamma Nature Reserve
    • Greyton Nature Reserve
    • Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area
    • Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve
    • Heuningberg Nature Reserve
    • Hoedjieskop Nature Reserve
    • Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve
    • Jonkershoek & Assegaaibosch Nature Reserve
    • Kammanassie Nature Reserve
    • Keurbooms River Nature Reserve
    • Kleinmond Nature Reserve
    • Koeberg Nature Reserve
    • Kogelberg Nature Reserve
    • Limietberg Nature Reserve
    • Marloth Nature Reserve
    • Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve
    • Matroosberg Nature Reserve
    • Montagu Mountain Reserve
    • MontEco Nature Reserve
    • Mount Rochelle Nature Reserve
    • Neulfonteinkop Nature Reserve
    • Outeniqua Nature Reserve
    • Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve
    • Pledge Nature Reserve
    • Reins Nature Reserve
    • Rietvlei Nature Reserve
    • Riverlands Nature Reserve
    • Robberg Nature Reserve
    • Rocherpan Nature Reserve
    • Rondevlei Nature Reserve
    • Saldanha Nature Reserve
    • Salmonsdam Nature Reserve
    • Schaapeiland Nature Reserve
    • Silvermine Nature Reserve
    • Swartberg Nature Reserve
    • Tienie Versfeld Reserve
    • Towerkop Nature Reserve
    • Tygerberg Nature Reserve
    • Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve
    • Walker Bay Nature Reserve
    • Warmwaterberg Nature Reserve
    • Waylands Wild Flower Reserve
    • Zuurbrak Nature Reserve

    Others

    License plates from the Province of Western Cape have the abbreviation WP ( Western Cape Province )

    Web links

    Commons : Western Cape  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

    Individual evidence

    1. ^ A b Statistics South Africa : Census 2011, Census in brief . online at www.statssa.gov.za (English, PDF file; 2.8 MB), PDF document p. 23, doc. p. 18.
    2. ^ Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab. Accessed August 5, 2018 .
    3. ^ Local Government Handbook. South Africa: Western Cape Municipalities . at www.municipalities.co.za (English).
    4. ^ Statistics South Africa : Western Cape . on www.statssa.gov.za (English), interactive map.
    5. Statistics South Africa: Census 2001 ( Memento from August 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
    6. South Africa: Provinces and Major Settlements - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather, and Web Information. Retrieved January 7, 2019 .