Eastern Cape Province
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| Area | 169,580 km˛ (13.9% of country's total) |
| Population (2001) | 6,436,761 (14.4% of the total) |
| GDP | 8.4% of the country's total |
| Languages | Xhosa (83%), Afrikaans (9.6%), English (3.7%) |
| Races | Black African 87.6%, Coloured 7.4%, Indian/Asian 0.3%, White 4.7% |
| Capital | Bisho |
| Other towns | Aliwal North, East London, Port Elizabeth, Umtata, Grahamstown |
| Premier | Nosimo Balindlela |
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bisho. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, as well as the eastern portion of the Cape Province. It is the traditional home of the amaXhosa tribe, and the birthplace of many prominent South Africans, such as Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.
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Tourism
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 of the world's best beaches, and "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, the last Cape buffalo and 21 black rhino of the very scarce Kenyan sub-species. The province is the location of South Africa's only ski resort, Tiffindell, which is situated in the Southern Drakensberg on the slopes of the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape (3001 m). The National Arts Festival, held in Grahamstown is Africa's largest and most colorful 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, which is the world's highest bungee jump. Jeffrey's 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 Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous 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 is a place of spectacular scenery, and a graveyard for many vessels.
Economy
The Eastern Cape remains one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. This is largely due to the extreme poverty found in the former homelands, where subsistence agriculture predominates. The two major industrial centres, Port Elizabeth and East London have well-developed economies, based on the automotive industry. General Motors and Volkswagen both have major assembly lines in the Port Elizabeth area, while East London is dominated by the large DaimlerChrysler plant. The largest construction project in Africa is currently underway at Coega, about 20 km north of Port Elizabeth, where a new harbour is being built. It is expected that this development will give the province a major economic boost.
There is a small exclave of Eastern Cape province completely surrounded by the neighbouring province of KwaZulu-Natal. Its main town is Umzimkulu.
Municipalities
The Eastern Cape Province is divided into 46 municipalities:
- Aberdeen Plain Municipality
- Alfred Nzo Municipality
- Amahlathi Municipality
- Amatole Municipality
- Baviaans Municipality
- Blue Crane Route Municipality
- Buffalo City Municipality
- Cacadu Municipality
- Camdeboo Municipality
- Chris Hani Municipality
- Elundini Municipality
- Emalahleni Municipality
- Engcobo Municipality
- Gariep Municipality
- Great Kei Municipality
- Ikwezi Municipality
- Inkwanca Municipality
- Intsika Yethu Municipality
- Inxuba Yethemba Municipality
- King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality
- Kouga Municipality
- Kou-Kamma Municipality
- Lukanji Municipality
- Makana Municipality
- Maletswai Municipality
- Mbhashe Municipality
- Mbizana Municipality
- Mhlontlo Municipality
- Mnquma Municipality
- Ndlambe Municipality Municipality
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (Port Elizabeth)
- Ngqushwa Municipality
- Nkonkobe Municipality
- Ntabankulu Municipality
- Nxuba Municipality
- Nyandeni Municipality
- O.R. Tambo Municipality
- Port St. Johns Municipality
- Quakeni Municipality
- Sakhisizwe Municipality
- Senqu Municipality
- Sunday's River Valley
- Tsolwana Municipality
- Ukhahlamba Municipality
- Umzimkhulu Municipality
- Umzimvubu Municipality
| Provinces of South Africa | 
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| Eastern Cape | Free State | Gauteng | KwaZulu-Natal | Limpopo | Mpumalanga | Northern Cape | North West | Western Cape | |
de:Ostkap es:Provincia del Cabo Oriental fr:Cap-Oriental nl:Oostelijke Kaap pl:Prowincja Przylądkowa Wschodnia sv:Eastern Cape
External links
http://www.sanparks.org/about/default.php http://www.addoelephantpark.com/