Gauteng Province

Gauteng is a province of South Africa. The province was formed from part of the old Transvaal province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially named Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (or PWV) and was renamed Gauteng in December 1994.

Situated in the heart of the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa with only 1.4% of the land area, but it is highly urbanised and has a population of 8,837,178 ( 2001 South African National Census), the second-largest after KwaZulu-Natal.

The name Gauteng comes from the Sesotho phrase meaning Place of Gold, referring to the thriving gold industry in the province following the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg. The Sesotho phrase was in turn derived from the Afrikaans "goud" (gold) plus the locative suffix "ng." When properly pronounced, the first letter of the name Gauteng is a guttural G, pronounced similarly to the "ch" in the German "achtung" or Scottish "loch." This guttural pronunciation is natural in both the Sesotho and Afrikaans languages.

Geography

Gauteng's southern border is the Vaal River which separates it from the Free State, and it also borders on North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Municipalities

Gauteng Province is divided into 3 metropolitan municipalities, and 3 district municipalities (which are further divided into 9 local municipalities). [1]

Map of metropolitan and local municipalities of Gauteng

1. City of Johannesburg
2. City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (Includes Pretoria)
3. Nokeng tsa Taemane Local Municipality
4. Kungwini Local Municipality
5. Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality ( East Rand)
6. Lesedi Local Municipality
7. Midvaal Local Municipality
8. Emfuleni Local Municipality
9. Westonaria Local Municipality
10. Merafong City Local Municipality
11. Randfontein Local Municipality
12. Mogale City Local Municipality
13. West Rand Municipality ( disputed — see talk page)

See also: List of cities and towns in Gauteng.

Demographics

Gauteng Province is home to 8.8 million people (2001 South Afrcan National Census), almost 20% of the total South African population. Gauteng Province is also the fastest growing province, experiencing a population growth of over 20% between the 1996 and 2001 censuses, thus Gauteng is likely to soon have the highest population of any province in South Africa.

As of the census of 2001, there are 8,837,172 people and 2,651,243 households residing in Gauteng. The population density is 519.53/km². The density of households is 155.86/km². The racial makeup of Gauteng is Black African 73.81%, Coloured 3.82%, Indian/Asian 2.47%, White 19.90%.

22.1% of all households are made up of individuals. The average household size is 3.33.

In the municipality the population is spread out with 23.6% under the age of 15, 19.6% from 15 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 15.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 27 years. For every 100 females there are 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.3 males.

Geographical distribution of home languages in the province.
Geographical distribution of home languages in the province.

In the province 14.4% of residents speak Afrikaans at home, 12.5% speak English, 1.9% speak IsiNdebele, 7.6% speak IsiXhosa, 21.5% speak IsiZulu, 10.7% speak Sepedi, 13.1% speak Sesotho, 8.4% speak Setswana, 1.4% speak SiSwati, 1.7% speak Tshivenda, and 5.7% speak Xitsonga. 1.0% of the population speaks a non-official language at home.

76.0% of residents are Christian, 18.4% have no religion, 1.7% are Muslim, 0.5% are Jewish, and 0.8% are Hindu. 2.6% have other or undetermined beliefs.

8.4% of residents aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 11.2% have had some primary school, 5.5% have completed only primary school, 34.3% have had some high school education, 28.0% have finished only high school, and 12.6% have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 40.6% of residents have completed high school.

56.1% of housing units have a telephone and/or cell-phone in the dwelling, 41.5% have access to a phone nearby, and 2.3% have access that is not nearby or no access. 82.8% of households have a flush or chemical toilet. 84.2% have refuse removed by the municipality at least once a week and 2.6% have no rubbish disposal. 47.2% have running water inside their dwelling, 83.6% have running water on their property, and 97.5% have access to running water. 73.2% of households use electricity for cooking, 70.4% for heating, and 80.8% for lighting. 77.4% of households have a radio, 65.7% have a television, 15.1% own a computer, 62.1% have a refrigerator, and 45.1% have a cell-phone.

25.8% of the population aged 15-65 is unemployed. Of the unemployed persons, 92.4% are Black African, 3.3% are Coloured, 0.8% are Indian/Asian, and 3.5% are White. 32.2% of Black Africans are unemployed, 23.6% of Coloureds, 8.1% of Indians/Asians, and 4.6% of Whites.

The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is R 23 539 ($3,483). Males have a median annual income of R 24 977 ($3,696) versus R 20 838 ($3,083) for females. The median annual income by race is R 15 399 ($2,279) for Black Africans, R 33 448 ($4,949) for Coloureds, R 57 036 ($8,440) for Indians/Asians, and R 73 438 ($10,867) for Whites. The annual income distribution in Gauteng Province is:

  • No income 2.0%
  • R 12 – R 4,800 ($2 - $721) 6.4%
  • R 4,812 – R 9,600 ($723 - $1,443) 13.0%
  • R 9,612 – R 19,200 ($1,445 – $2,886) 24.0%
  • R 19,212 – R 38,400 ($2,888 - $5,772) 20.4%
  • R 38,412 – R 76,800 ($5,774 - $11,543) 15.8%
  • R 76,812 – R 153,600 ($11,545 - $23,087) 10.4%
  • R 153,612 – R 307,200 ($23,089 - $46,174) 5.0%
  • R 307,212 – R 614,400 ($46,176 - $92,348) 1.8%
  • R 614,412 or more ($92,350+) 1.1%

Statistics South Africa Census 2001

Economy

Gauteng is considered the economic hub of South Africa and contributes heavily in the financial, manufacturing, transport, technology and telecommunications sectors, amongst others. It also plays host to a large number of overseas companies requiring a commercial base in and gateway to Africa.

Although Gauteng is the smallest of South Africa's nine provinces - it covers only 1.4% of the country's total land area - it contributes more than 38% of its gross domestic product (GDP) as well as 60% of its fiscal revenue. Indeed, Gauteng generates 9% of the GDP of the entire African continent.

Future Growth

Gauteng is growing rapidly, due to mass urbanisation that is a feature of many developing countries. According to the State of the Cities Report, the urban portion of Gauteng - comprised primarily of the cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni (the East Rand) and Tshwane (greater Pretoria) - will be a polycentric urban region with a projected population of some 14.6 million people by 2015, making it one of the largest cities in the world. AIDS may however negate this projection.

This rapid growth has brought with it both opportunities and challenges. As a global focal point, with access to the Southern African hinterland, Gauteng has the ability to link the world to a population approximately the same size as the United States. It is fast becoming to sub-Saharan Africa what the Eastern Seaboard megalopolis is to America. But this also presents some formidable obstacles, most notably the ability to provide access to basic amenities such as electricity and potable water. Transport is also a major problem, and Johannesburg, as the core of Gauteng, is beginning to experience the heavy traffic problems of cities such as Los Angeles and Bangkok.

Government inability to deal with corruption adds to the problem of a region already bursting at the seams with illegal immigrants. These refugees from the rest of Africa flood into the economic hub of Southern Africa seeking a better life. They bring with them the legacies of the countries they are fleeing. It remains to be seen if this region can continue to play saviour to the people of other African states, without negatively being affected.

Education

Gauteng is a centre of learning in South Africa, and it has many universities and other schools of higher learning.

  • Medical University of South Africa
  • Tshwane University of Technology (Formed after Technikon Pretoria, Technikon Northern Gauteng, and Technikon North-West merged)
  • University of Johannesburg (Formed after Rand Afrikaans University, some Johannesburg campuses of Vista University and Technikon Witwatersrand merged)
  • University of Pretoria
  • University of South Africa: Also known as UNISA and incorporating the Technikon South Africa
  • Vaal University of Technology: Previously known as Vaal Triangle Technikon
  • University of the Witwatersrand

Conservation

Although Gauteng province is dominated by the urban areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria, it has some beautiful nature reserves:

  • Marievale Bird Sanctuary
  • Abe Bailey Nature Reserve
  • Roodeplaat Nature Reserve.
  • Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve

Sport & Recreation

Football is also popular in South Africa. Several teams from Gauteng play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), including Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Rugby, or more accurately rugby union, is a popular sport in South Africa, and in Gauteng in particular. Two rugby teams from Gauteng participate in the Southern Hemisphere Super 14 championship: the Pretoria-based Bulls, and the Johannesburg-based Cats. Three Gauteng-based teams play in the country's domestic competition, the Currie Cup: the Blue Bulls from Pretoria, the Golden Lions from Johannesburg and the Falcons from the East Rand.

Walking and Hiking are also popular in Gauteng. But high crime rates and urban neglect have made it difficult and often dangerous to walk in the parks and greenbelts. For more info on walking in Gauteng, have a look at Gauteng Dogwalks homepage - it has photos, maps and more info on getting people safely back into the province's parks.