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Eastern Cape

2013-12-23

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2011}}

{{Infobox settlement



| name = Eastern Cape

| native_name = {{lang|af|Oos-Kaap}} {{af icon}}<br />{{lang|xh|EMpuma Koloni}} {{xh icon}}

| settlement_type = [[Provinces of South Africa|Province of South Africa]]





| image_shield = Coat of arms of the Eastern Cape.svg

| motto = Development through Unity



| image_map = Eastern Cape in South Africa.svg

| mapsize =

| map_alt = Map showing the location of the Eastern Cape in the southern part of South Africa

| map_caption = Location of the Eastern Cape in South Africa



| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = [[South Africa]]



| established_title = Established

| established_date = 27 April 1994



| seat_type = Capital

| seat = [[Bhisho]]

| seat1_type = Largest city

| seat1 = [[Port Elizabeth]]

| parts_type = [[Districts of South Africa|Districts]]

| p1 = [[Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality|Nelson Mandela Bay]]

| p2 = [[Cacadu District Municipality|Cacadu]]

| p3 = [[Amatole District Municipality|Amatole]]

| p4 = [[Chris Hani District Municipality|Chris Hani]]

| p5 = [[Joe Gqabi District Municipality|Joe Gqabi]]

| p6 = [[OR Tambo District Municipality|OR Tambo]]

| p7 = [[Alfred Nzo District Municipality|Alfred Nzo]]



| government_footnotes = 

| government_type = [[Parliamentary system]]

| leader_party = [[African National Congress|ANC]]

| leader_title = [[Premier of the Eastern Cape|Premier]]

| leader_name = [[Noxolo Kiviet]]



| area_footnotes = <ref name="cib2011">{{cite book |title=Census 2011: Census in brief |url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/Census2011/Products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf |publisher=Statistics South Africa |location=Pretoria |year=2012 |isbn=9780621413885}}</ref>{{rp|9}}

| area_total_km2 = 168966

| area_rank = [[List of South African provinces by area|2nd in South Africa]]



| elevation_max_footnotes = 

| elevation_max_m = 3019

| elevation_min_footnotes = 

| elevation_min_m = 0



| population_footnotes = <ref name="cib2011" />{{rp|18}}<ref>{{cite report |title=Mid-year population estimates, 2013 |publisher=Statistics South Africa |date=14 May 2013 |page=3 |url=http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022013.pdf |accessdate=15 May 2013}}</ref>

| population_total = 6562053

| population_as_of = 2011

| population_density_km2 = auto

| population_est = 6620100

| pop_est_as_of = 2013

| population_rank = [[List of South African provinces by population|3rd in South Africa]]

| population_density_rank = [[List of South African provinces by population density|6th in South Africa]]

| population_demonym = 

| population_note =



| demographics_type1 = Population groups

| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="cib2011" />{{rp|21}}

| demographics1_title1 = [[Black people|Black African]]

| demographics1_info1 = 86.3%

| demographics1_title2 = [[Coloured]]

| demographics1_info2 = 8.3%

| demographics1_title3 = [[White South African|White]]

| demographics1_info3 = 4.7%

| demographics1_title4 = [[Indian South African|Indian]] or [[Asian South African|Asian]]

| demographics1_info4 = 0.4%



| demographics_type2 = Languages

| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="cib2011" />{{rp|25}}

| demographics2_title1 = [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]

| demographics2_info1 = 78.8%

| demographics2_title2 = [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]]

| demographics2_info2 = 10.6%

| demographics2_title3 = [[South African English|English]]

| demographics2_info3 = 5.6%

| demographics2_title4 = [[Sotho language|Sotho]]

| demographics2_info4 = 2.5%



| timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]]

| utc_offset1 = +2



| iso_code = ZA-EC



| website = [http://www.ecprov.gov.za/ www.ecprov.gov.za]

| footnotes =

}}

The '''Eastern Cape''' is a [[Provinces of South Africa|province of South Africa]]. Its capital is [[Bhisho]], but its two largest cities are [[Port Elizabeth]] and [[East London, South Africa|East London]]. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of [[Transkei]] and [[Ciskei]], together with the eastern portion of the [[Cape Province]]. Landing place and home of the 1820 settlers, the central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] people. This region is the birthplace of many prominent South African politicians, such as [[Nelson Mandela]], [[Oliver Tambo]], [[Walter Sisulu]], [[Govan Mbeki]], [[Raymond Mhlaba]], [[Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe]], [[Chris Hani]], [[Thabo Mbeki]], [[Steve Biko]] and [[Charles Patrick John Coghlan|Charles Coghlan]].

==History==

The Eastern Cape as a South African Province came into being in 1994 and incorporated areas from the former Xhosa homelands of the [[Transkei]] and [[Ciskei]], together with what was previously part of the [[Cape Province]]. This resulted in several anomalies including the fact that the Province has four supreme courts (in Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Bhisho and Mthatha) and enclaves of [[KwaZulu-Natal]] in the province. The latter anomaly has fallen away with amendments to municipal and provincial boundaries.

==Law and Government==

{{main|Politics of the Eastern Cape}}

The first premier was Raymond Mhlaba of the [[African National Congress]] and the current premier of Eastern Cape province is [[Noxolo Kiviet]] of the [[African National Congress]].

== Geography ==

:''See also [[List of cities and towns in the Eastern Cape]]''

The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semi-arid [[Karoo]], except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in the Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between [[Graaff-Reinet]] and Rhodes including the [[Sneeuberge]] (English: Snow Mountains), [[Stormberg Mountains|Stormberge]], [[Winterberg, Eastern Cape|Winterberge]] and [[Drakensberg]] (English: Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province is [[Ben Macdhui (South Africa)|Ben Macdhui]] at 3001m. The east from [[East London, South Africa|East London]] and [[Queenstown, Eastern Cape|Queenstown]] towards the [[KwaZulu-Natal]] border – a region known previously as [[Transkei]] – is lush grassland on rolling hills, punctuated by deep gorges with intermittent forest.

Eastern Cape has a [[coast|shoreline]] in the south on the [[Indian Ocean|South Indian Ocean]]. In the northeast, it borders the following [[districts of Lesotho|districts]] of [[Lesotho]]:

*[[Mohale's Hoek District|Mohale's Hoek]] – west of Quthing

*[[Quthing District|Quthing]] – between Mohale and Qacha's Nek

*[[Qacha's Nek District|Qacha's Nek]] – east of Quthing

Domestically, it borders the following provinces:

*[[Western Cape]] – west

*[[Northern Cape]] – northwest

*[[Free State (South African province)|Free State]] – north

*[[KwaZulu-Natal]] – far northeast

== Climate ==

Climate is highly varied. The west is dry with sparse rain during winter or summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The area [[Tsitsikamma]] to [[Grahamstown]] receives more precipitation, which is also relatively evenly distributed and temperatures are mild. Further east, rainfall becomes more plentiful and humidity increases, becoming more subtropical along the coast with summer rainfall. The interior can become very cold in winter, with heavy snowfalls occasionally occurring in the mountainous regions between [[Molteno, Eastern Cape|Molteno]] and [[Rhodes, Eastern Cape|Rhodes]].

*[[Port Elizabeth]]: Jan Max: 25 °C, Min: 18 °C; Jul Max: 20 °C, Min: 9 °C

*[[Molteno, Eastern Cape|Molteno]] & [[Barkly East]]: Jan Max 28 °C, Min 11 °C; Jul Max: 14 °C, Min: -7 °C

== Tourism ==

[[Image:Aloe Ferox between Cofimvaba and Ngcobo.jpg|thumb|''[[Aloe ferox]]'' on the R61 route between Cofimvaba and Ngcobo.]]

The landscape is extremely diverse. The western interior is largely arid [[Karoo]], while the east is well-watered and green. The Eastern Cape offers a wide array of attractions, including 800 km of untouched and pristine coastline along with some particularly splendid beaches, and "[[Big Five Game|big-five]]" viewing in a [[malaria]]-free environment.

The [[Addo Elephant National Park]], situated 73 km from [[Port Elizabeth]], was proclaimed in 1931. Its 743 km² offers sanctuary to 170 elephants, 400 [[Cape buffalo]] and 21 [[black rhino]] of the very scarce [[Kenya]]n sub-species.

The province is the location of South Africa's only [[Snow skiing]] resort, [[Tiffindell]], which is situated near the hamlet of [[Rhodes, Eastern Cape|Rhodes]] in the Southern [[Drakensberg]] on the slopes of [[Ben Macdhui (South Africa)|Ben Macdhui]], the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape (3001 m).

The National Arts Festival, held annually in [[Grahamstown]], is Africa's largest and most colourful cultural event, offering a choice of the very best of both indigenous and imported talent. Every year for 11 days the town's population almost doubles, as over 50,000 people flock to the region for a feast of arts, crafts and sheer entertainment.

The [[Tsitsikamma National Park]] is an 80 km long coastal strip between Nature's Valley and the mouth of the [[Storms River]]. In the park the visitor finds an almost untouched natural landscape. Near the park is the [[Bloukrans Bridge]] and [[Bloukrans Bridge Bungy]] which is the world's third highest bungee jump,

[[Jeffreys Bay]] is an area with some of the country's wildest coastline, which is backed by some of Africa's most spectacular sub-tropical rainforest. Famous for its "supertubes", probably South Africa's longest and most consistently good wave, it's charged with a surf vibe as relaxed as it is friendly, and this tends to soften the effect of the wealthy set who have made this part of the coast their own.

[[Aliwal North]], lying on a splendid agricultural plateau on the southern bank of the [[Orange River]], is one of the country's most popular inland resorts and is famous for its hot springs.

The rugged and unspoilt [[Wild Coast Region, Eastern Cape|Wild Coast]] is a place of spectacular scenery, and a graveyard for many vessels.

[[Whittlesea, Eastern Cape]], situated in the beautiful [[Amatola Mountains]], is now famous for the first wine estate in the province.

== Economy ==

The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. This is largely due to the poverty found in the former homelands, where subsistence agriculture predominates.

===Agriculture===

There is much fertile land in the Eastern Cape, and agriculture remains important. The fertile [[Langkloof]] Valley in the southwest has enormous deciduous fruit orchards, while sheep farming predominates in the Karoo.

The Alexandria-Grahamstown area produces pineapples, chicory and dairy products, while coffee and tea are cultivated at Magwa. People in the former Transkei region are dependent on cattle, maize and sorghum-farming. An olive nursery has been developed in collaboration with the [[University of Fort Hare]] to form a nucleus of olive production in the Eastern Cape.

Domestic stock farming is slowly giving way to game farming on large scale, fueled by the commercial benefits of eco-tourism and the lower risk needed to protect wild game against drought, the natural elements and poaching.

The area around [[Stutterheim]] is being grown extensively with timber plantations.

The basis of the province's [[fishing industry]] is squid, some recreational and commercial fishing for line fish, the collection of marine resources, and access to line-catches of hake.

===Industry===

With three import/export harbours and three airports offering direct flights to the main centres, and an excellent road and rail infrastructure, the province has been earmarked as a key area for growth and economic development in modern South Africa.

The two major industrial centres, [[Port Elizabeth]] and [[East London, South Africa|East London]] have well-developed economies based on the automotive industry. [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] and [[Volkswagen]] both have major assembly lines in the Port Elizabeth area, while East London is dominated by the large [[DaimlerChrysler]] plant.

Environmental-friendly projects include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative, the Wild Coast SDI, and two industrial development zones, the East London Industrial Development Zone and the Coega IDZ near Port Elizabeth. Coega is the largest infrastructure development in post-apartheid South Africa. The construction of the deepwater [[Port of Ngqura]] was completed and the first commercial ship anchored in October 2009. It is expected that this development will give the province a major economic boost.

Other important sectors include finance, real estate, business services, wholesale and retail trade, eco-tourism (nature reserves and game ranches) and hotels and restaurants.

== Municipalities ==

[[File:Eastern Cape population density map.svg|thumb|Population density in the Eastern Cape

{{columns

|col1 =

{{legend|#ffffcc|<1 /km²}}

{{legend|#ffeda0|1–3 /km²}}

{{legend|#fed976|3–10 /km²}}

{{legend|#feb24c|10–30 /km²}}

{{legend|#fd8d3c|30–100 /km²}}

|col2=

{{legend|#fc4e2a|100–300 /km²}}

{{legend|#e31a1c|300–1000 /km²}}

{{legend|#bc0026|1000–3000 /km²}}

{{legend|#800026|>3000 /km²}}}}]]

[[File:Eastern Cape dominant language map.svg|thumb|Dominant home languages in the Eastern Cape

{{columns |col1=

{{legend|#8dd3c7|[[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]]}}

{{legend|#ffffb3|[[South African English|English]]}}

{{legend|#fb8072|[[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]}}

|col2=

{{legend|#80b1d3|[[Zulu language|Zulu]]}}

{{legend|#b3de69|[[Sotho language|Sotho]]}}

{{legend|#d0d0d0|No language dominant}}}}]]

The Eastern Cape Province is divided into 37 local municipalities and two metropolitan municipalities:

{|

|-valign=top

|

*'''[[Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality]]

|

*'''[[Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality]]

|

*'''[[Alfred Nzo District Municipality|Alfred Nzo District]]

**[[Matatiele Local Municipality|Matatiele]]

**[[Umzimvubu Local Municipality|Umzimvubu]]

|

*'''[[Amatole District Municipality|Amatole District]]

**[[Amahlathi Local Municipality|Amahlathi]]

**[[Great Kei Local Municipality|Great Kei]]

**[[Mbhashe Local Municipality|Mbhashe]]

**[[Mnquma Local Municipality|Mnquma]]

**[[Ngqushwa Local Municipality|Ngqushwa]]

**[[Nkonkobe Local Municipality|Nkonkobe]]

**[[Nxuba Local Municipality|Nxuba]]

|

*'''[[Cacadu District Municipality|Cacadu District]]

**[[Baviaans Local Municipality|Baviaans]]

**[[Blue Crane Route Local Municipality|Blue Crane Route]]

**[[Camdeboo Local Municipality|Camdeboo]]

**[[Ikwezi Local Municipality|Ikwezi]]

**[[Kou-Kamma Local Municipality|Kou-Kamma]]

**[[Kouga Local Municipality|Kouga]]

**[[Makana Local Municipality|Makana]]

**[[Ndlambe Local Municipality|Ndlambe]]

**[[Sunday's River Valley Local Municipality|Sunday's River Valley]]

|

*'''[[Chris Hani District Municipality|Chris Hani District]]

**[[Emalahleni Local Municipality, Eastern Cape|Emalahleni]]

**[[Ngcobo, Eastern Cape|Ngcobo]]

**[[Inkwanca Local Municipality|Inkwanca]]

**[[Intsika Yethu Local Municipality|Intsika]]

**[[Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality|Inxuba Yethemba]]

**[[Lukhanji Local Municipality|Lukhanji]]

**[[Sakhisizwe Local Municipality|Sakhisizwe]]

**[[Tsolwana Local Municipality|Tsolwana]]

|

*'''[[OR Tambo District Municipality|O.R. Tambo District]]

**[[Ngquza Hill Local Municipality|Ngquza Hill]]

**[[King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality|King Sabata Dalindyebo]]

**[[Mbizana Local Municipality|Mbizana]]

**[[Mhlontlo Local Municipality|Mhlontlo]]

**[[Ntabankulu Local Municipality|Ntabankulu]]

**[[Nyandeni Local Municipality|Nyandeni]]

**[[Port St. Johns Local Municipality|Port St. Johns]]

|

*'''[[Joe Gqabi District Municipality|Joe Gqabi District]]'''

**[[Elundini Local Municipality|Elundini]]

**[[Gariep Local Municipality|Gariep]]

**[[Maletswai Local Municipality|Maletswai]]

**[[Senqu Local Municipality|Senqu]]

|}

== Education ==

*Universities

**[[Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University]] ([[Port Elizabeth]])

**[[Rhodes University]] ([[Grahamstown]])

**[[University of Fort Hare]] (main campus in [[Alice, Eastern Cape|Alice]], satellite campuses in [[Bhisho]] and [[East London, South Africa|East London]])

**[[Walter Sisulu University for Technology and Science]] (campuses in Buffalo City, [[Butterworth, Eastern Cape|Butterworth]], [[Mthatha]], [[Queenstown, Eastern Cape|Queenstown]])

*Other educational institutions

**Port Elizabeth College

**Various independent FET Colleges (Further Education and Training)

**[[College of the Transfiguration]], [[Grahamstown]]

== Sports ==

*Soccer

**[[Bay United F.C.]] ([[Port Elizabeth]])

*Cricket

**[[Warriors cricket team|Chevrolet Warriors]] ([[Port Elizabeth]])

*Rugby

**[[Eastern Province Kings]] ([[Port Elizabeth]])

**[[Border Bulldogs]] ([[East London, South Africa|East London]])

**[[Southern Kings]] ([[Port Elizabeth]])

==References==

{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==

*[http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/landpeople.htm#ec Eastern Cape National Government information]

*[http://www.ecprov.gov.za/ Eastern Cape Provincial Government]

*[http://www.ecsecc.org/ Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council]

*[http://www.ectb.co.za/ Eastern Cape Tourism Board]

*[http://www.ecdc.co.za/ Eastern Cape Development Corporation]

{{Eastern Cape province}}

{{Provinces of South Africa}}

{{coord|32|S|27|E|region:ZA_type:adm1st_dim:800km|display=title}}

[[Category:Eastern Cape| ]]

[[Category:Provinces of South Africa]]

[[Category:States and territories established in 1994]]{{Usedwps}}