Western Cape Province
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Template:Western Cape infobox The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape, was part of the huge (and now defunct) Cape Province. Prior to the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 it was called the Cape Colony (see the History of Cape Colony).
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Law and Government
The capital of the Western Cape Province is the City of Cape Town. Its current Premier is Ebrahim Rasool and the Director-General is Gilbert Lawrence.
The Constitution of the Western Cape was adopted in 1998 and is available in the official languages of the province, Afrikaans, English and Xhosa.
The Western Cape Provincial Parliament is responsible for creating laws within its responsibilities as set out by the South African Constitution. Some of the issues dealt with cover agriculture, education, environment, health services, housing, language policies, tourism, trade, and welfare. The Parliament is housed in Cape Town and has a total of 42 members; 19 seats are currently held by the ANC, 12 by the DA, 5 by the NNP, 3 by the ID, 2 by the ACDP, and 1 by the UDM.
The Western Cape Provincial Administration had a 2004 budget of R16.4 billion ($2.8 billion).
Geography
Western Cape Province is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape Province, on the east by the Eastern Cape Province, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The Breede and Berg Rivers are major rivers of the province. The capital is Cape Town and other major cities include Stellenbosch, Worcester, Paarl, and George.
The total land area is 129,370 km², about 10.6% of the country’s total. It is roughly the size of England or the US state of Louisiana.
Municipalities
The Western Cape Province is divided into thirty municipalities:
- Beaufort West Municipality
- Bergrivier Municipality
- Breede River Municipality
- Breede River/Winelands Municipality
- Breede Valley Municipality
- Cape Agulhas Municipality
- Cederberg Municipality
- Central Karoo Municipality
- City of Cape Town
- Drakenstein Municipality
- George Municipality
- Kannaland Municipality
- Knysna Municipality
- Laingsburg Municipality
- Langeberg Municipality
- Matzikama Municipality
- Mossel Bay Municipality
- Oudtshoorn Municipality
- Overberg Municipality
- Overstrand Municipality
- Plettenberg Bay Municipality
- Prince Albert Municipality
- Saldanha Bay Municipality
- South Cape Municipality
- Stellenbosch Municipality
- Swartland Municipality
- Swellendam Municipality
- Theewaterskloof Municipality
- West Coast Municipality
- Witzenberg Municipality
Economy
The Western Cape Province’s total GDP is the third-highest contribution to the country’s total, at 14.6%. The largest industry is the clothing and textile industry, which employs over 170,000 people. The province also has a substantially lower unemployment rate than the other provinces; 17.1% of the working population is unemployed.
The province is a major centre of tourism for the country, with Cape Town and the Winelands being popular tourist destinations.
Demographics
As of the census of 2001, there are 4,524,336 people and 1,173,302 households residing in the Western Cape. The population density is 34.97/km². The household density is 9.07/km². The racial makeup of the Western Cape is Black African 26.68%, Coloured 53.91%, Indian/Asian 1.00%, and White 18.41%.
15.6% of all households are made up of individuals. The average household size is 3.86
In the province the population is spread out with 27.3% under the age of 15, 19.4% from 15 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 26 years. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.3 males.
In the province 55.3% of residents speak Afrikaans at home, 19.3% speak English, 0.0% speak IsiNdebele, 23.7% speak IsiXhosa, 0.2% speak IsiZulu, 0.0% speak Sepedi, 0.7% speak Sesotho, 0.1% speak Setswana, 0.0% speak SiSwati, 0.0% speak Tshivenda, and 0.0% speak Xitsonga. 0.4% of the population speaks a non-official language at home.
81.8% of residents are Christian, 9.0% have no religion, 6.5% are Muslim, 0.4% are Jewish, and 0.2% are Hindu. 2.1% have other or undetermined beliefs.
5.7% of residents aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 15.2% have had some primary school, 7.9% have completed only primary school, 36.5% have had some high school education, 23.4% have finished only high school, and 11.2% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 34.6% of residents have completed high school.
63.1% of housing units have a telephone and/or cell-phone in the dwelling, 34.2% have access to a phone nearby, and 2.7% have access that is not nearby or no access. 86.5% of households have a flush or chemical toilet. 87.8% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week and 1.4% have no rubbish disposal. 67.5% have running water inside their dwelling, 85.2% have running water on their property, and 98.3% have access to running water. 78.8% of households use electricity for cooking, 73.4% for heating, and 88.0% for lighting. 79.1% of households have a radio, 74.1% have a television, 18.2% own a computer, 73.5% have a refrigerator, and 41.4% have a cell-phone.
17.1% of the population aged 15-65 is unemployed. Of the unemployed persons, 53.4% are Black African, 43.0% are Coloured, 0.4% are Indian/Asian, and 3.2% are White. 23.3% of Black Africans are unemployed, 9.3% of Coloureds, 5.0% of Indians/Asians, and 2.0% of Whites.
The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 in the Western Cape is R 18,703 ($2,811). Males have a median annual income of R 21,048 ($3,164) versus R 17,035 ($2,560) for females. The median annual income by race is R 12,213 ($1,836) for Black Africans, R 16,354 ($2,458) for Coloureds, R 42,803 ($6,434) for Indians/Asian), and R 64,968 ($9,765) for Whites. The annual income distribution is:
- No income 2.0%
- R 12 – R 4,800 ($2 - $721) 6.5%
- R 4,812 – R 9,600 ($723 - $1,443) 17.7%
- R 9,612 – R 19,200 ($1,445 – $2,886) 25.1%
- R 19,212 – R 38,400 ($2,888 - $5,772) 20.1%
- R 38,412 – R 76,800 ($5,774 - $11,543) 15.2%
- R 76,812 – R 153,600 ($11,545 - $23,087) 8.3%
- R 153,612 – R 307,200 ($23,089 - $46,174) 3.3%
- R 307,212 – R 614,400 ($46,176 - $92,348) 1.1%
- R 614,412 or more ($92,350+) 0.7%
Statistics South Africa Census 2001 (http://www.statssa.gov.za/census01/Census/Database/Census%202001/Census%202001.asp)
Important cities and towns
Population 1,000,000+ (urbanized area)
Population 50,000+ (urbanized area)
Population 10,000+ (urbanized area)
Education
Colleges and Universities
External link
- Provincial Government of the Western Cape (http://www.westerncape.gov.za/)
| Provinces of South Africa | 
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|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | Free State | Gauteng | KwaZulu-Natal | Limpopo | Mpumalanga | Northern Cape | North West | Western Cape | |
de:Westkap es:Provincia del Cabo Occidental fr:Cap-Occidental ja:西ケープ州 nl:Westelijke Kaap sv:Western Cape