Provinces of South Africa
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South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided as follows (numbered corresponding with the map to the right and with the capital in parenthesis):
- Western Cape (Cape Town)
- Northern Cape (Kimberley)
- Eastern Cape (Bisho)
- KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg¹)
- Free State (Bloemfontein)
- North West (Mafikeng)
- Gauteng (Johannesburg)
- Mpumalanga (Nelspruit)
- Limpopo (Polokwane)
¹: Pietermaritzburg and Ulundi shared being capital of KwaZulu-Natal during 1994–2004.
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History
Since the establishing of the Union of South Africa in 1910, South Africa had four provinces consisting of the divisions which existed prior to the Boer War: two British colonies (the Cape Colony and Natal Colony) and two Boer republics (the Orange Free State and Transvaal Republic). Segregation of the black population started as early as 1913, with ownership of land by the black majority being restricted to certain areas totaling about 13% of the country. From the late 1950s, these areas were gradually consolidated into "homelands" or "bantustans," which served as the de jure national states of the black population during the apartheid era. In 1976, the homeland of Transkei was the first to accept independence from South Africa, and although this independence was never acknowledged by any other country, three other homelands followed suit.
Provinces
- Cape of Good Hope Province (Cape Town)
- Natal (Pietermaritzburg)
- Orange Free State (Bloemfontein)
- Transvaal (Pretoria)
Independent Homelands
- Bophuthatswana (Mmabatho). Declared independent in 1977.
- Ciskei (Bisho). Declared independent in 1981.
- Transkei (Umtata). Declared independent in 1976.
- Venda (Thohoyandou). Declared independent in 1979
Non-Independent Homelands
- Gazankulu (Giyani)
- KaNgwane (Louieville)
- KwaNdebele (Siyabuswa)
- KwaZulu (Ulundi)
- Lebowa (Lebowakgomo)
- Qwaqwa (Phuthaditjhaba)
See also
es:Organización político-administrativa de Sudáfrica fr:Provinces de l'Afrique du Sud it:Province del Sudafrica nl:Provincies van Zuid-Afrika ja:南アフリカ共和国の州 pl:Prowincje RPA