Provinces of South Africa

South Africa is administratively divided into nine provinces . In 1994 the provincial structure that had been created since the formation of the South African Union in 1910 was abandoned. Likewise, the territorial units of the Homelands , which were based on a racially motivated population and economic policy, dissolved through reintegration with effect from April 27, 1994.

In 1995 there were again changes to the provincial names, which affected the previous names Pretoria / Witwatersrand / Vereeniging (PWV area), Orange Free State and Northern Transvaal . The former regions of Pretoria , Witwatersrand and Vaal (also abbreviated PWV) became Gauteng , which in Sotho is called "Place of Gold". From Orange Free State was shortened Free State and Northern Transvaal initially was named Northern Province; In 2002 the name was changed to Limpopo Province .

Since the country's first democratic parliamentary election in 1994, there has been a complete territorial and administrative reorganization of the state into nine provinces. Their representative bodies are the Provincial Legislatures . The following table gives an overview (the situation in South Africa can be identified by the numbering):

province	English name	Capital	Area in km²	map	Population (2011)	Density (population / km²)	prime minister	Political party
Western cape	Western Cape	Cape Town	129,462		5,822,734	45	Alan Winds	THERE
North Cape	Northern Cape	Kimberley	372,889		1,145,861	3	Zamani Saul	ANC
Eastern Cape	Eastern Cape	Bhisho	168,966		6,562,053	39	Oscar Mabuyane	ANC
KwaZulu-Natal	KwaZulu-Natal	Pietermaritzburg	94,361		10,267,300	109	Sihle Zikalala	ANC
free State	Free State	Bloemfontein	129,825		2,745,590	21st	Sisi Ntombela	ANC
northwest	North West	Mahikeng	104,882		3,509,953	33	Job Mokgoro	ANC
Gauteng	Gauteng	Johannesburg	18,178		12,272,263	675	David Makhura	ANC
Mpumalanga	Mpumalanga	Mbombela	76,495		4,039,939	53	Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane	ANC
Limpopo	Limpopo	Polokwane	125,755		5,404,868	43	Stanley Mathabatha	ANC

Legend: 1) Western Cape, 2) North Cape, 3) Eastern Cape, 4) KwaZulu-Natal, 5) Free State, 6) Northwest, 7) Gauteng, 8) Mpumalanga, 9) Limpopo

See also

• Historic provinces of South Africa
• List of districts and metropolitan parishes in South Africa
• List of municipalities in South Africa
• Coat of arms of the South African provinces
• List of provinces of South Africa according to the human development index

Individual evidence

1. ^ South African History Online : The Homelands . on www.sahistory.org.za (English)
2. ^ South African History Online: Three South African provinces are renamed . on www.sahistory.org.za (English)
3. ^ South African History Online: Limpopo . on www.sahistory.org.za (English)
4. ↑ ^{a b} 2011 census , accessed on January 22, 2016