Although the capital of the Eastern Cape is Bhisho, the two largest cities are East London and Port Elizabeth. It is the second largest province in South Africa according to area and is traditionally the homeland of the Xhosa people.
The Eastern Cape is the poorest province, and it is dominated by subsistence farming. Agriculture certainly dominates and there are many successful commercial farms including sheep farms and fruit orchards. Port Elizabeth and East London also have healthy automotive industries.
The Free State is a province in central South Africa and its capital is Bloemfontein. Bloemfontein is also the judicial capital of the country. Central to the province’s economy is agriculture and it is known as the granary of South Africa.
The sector that employs the largest number of people, though, is the mining sector. The province has rich goldfields that represent 20% of the globe’s total gold production.
This province is located in the Highveld and is the smallest province in area. In terms of population, however, the province has more than a quarter of the country’s population.
This province is the economic hub of South Africa. Some notable sectors are financial, technology, telecommunications, manufacturing and transport. Gauteng is also home to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange which is the largest stock exchange in Africa.
KwaZulu Natal, also known as KZN, is a province in the east of South Africa. It has a long shoreline on the eastern most side of the province on the Indian Ocean. It also boarders Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho.
Africa’s busiest port can be found in Durban, in KwaZulu Natal. Agriculture is an important sector in KZN with prominent sugar, cattle, dairy, corn, sorghum, banana and pineapple farms.
Limpopo is the northern most province. The province is named after the Limpopo river that forms the northern and western boarder of the province. The capital of the province is Polokwane.
The province is a developing area and has an economy that is largely based on the export of of primary products. Limpopo has rich mineral deposits including iron ore, platinum, diamonds, phosphate and copper.
Mpumalanga means ‘the place where the sun rises’ or ‘east’ and this describes where the province is located in South Africa. It shares a boarder with Mozambique and Eswatini.
The prominent economic sectors in the province are farming, mining and tourism. Some of the major agricultural crops in the province are maize, sunflower seeds, soybeans, tobacco, tea and groundnuts.
The capital of North West is Mahikeng and it is located to the west of Gauteng. The largest city in the province is Klerksdorp and Tswana is the predominant language spoken.
More than half of the province’s GDP comes from mining and the principal minerals are gold, uranium, platinum and diamonds. In the northern and western parts of the province there are also sheep, cattle and game farms.
This is the largest province in area and is the most sparsely populated. The capital of the Northern Cape is Kimberly, and a majority of the population speaks Afrikaans.
The economy of this province relies on two main sectors, agriculture and mining. The Northern Cape is known for the diamond mines that are around Kimberly. There is also substantial agriculture in the area around the orange river.
This province is located on the south-western coast of South Africa. The capital of the province is Cape Town where around two thirds of the province’s population live.
The Western Cape has the second largest economy in the country and its economy is growing. The employment rate is better than the national average and the largest sectors are the financial, business and real estate sector.