Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Gauteng
official name	The Province of Gauteng
settlement type	Province of South Africa
image seal	Gauteng-logo.jpg
motto	Unity in Diversity
map alt	Map showing the location of Gauteng in the north-central part of South Africa
map caption	Location of Gauteng in South Africa
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name
established title	Established
established date	27 April 1994
seat type	Capital
seat	Johannesburg
parts type	Districts
p1	City of Johannesburg
p2	City of Tshwane
p3	Ekurhuleni
p4	Sedibeng
p5	Metsweding
p6	West Rand
government footnotes
government type	Parliamentary system
leader party	ANC
leader title	Premier
leader name	Nomvula Mokonyane
area footnotes
area total km2	18178
area rank	9th in South Africa
elevation max footnotes
elevation max m	1913
elevation min footnotes
elevation min m
population total	10667578
population as of	2007
population density km2	auto
population est	11191700
pop est as of	2010
population rank	1st in South Africa
population density rank	1st in South Africa
population demonym
population note
demographics type1	Population groups
demographics1 footnotes
demographics1 title1	Black African
demographics1 info1	75.2%
demographics1 title2	White
demographics1 info2	18.4%
demographics1 title3	Coloured
demographics1 info3	3.7%
demographics1 title4	Indian or Asian
demographics1 info4	2.7%
demographics type2	Languages
demographics2 footnotes
demographics2 title1	Zulu
demographics2 info1	21.1%
demographics2 title2	Afrikaans
demographics2 info2	13.6%
demographics2 title3	Sotho
demographics2 info3	12.6%
demographics2 title4	English
demographics2 info4	12.0%
demographics2 title5	Northern Sotho
demographics2 info5	11.2%
timezone1	SAST
utc offset1	+2
iso code	ZA-GP
footnotes	}}

Gauteng ( or ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It 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, containing the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. , it had a population of nearly 10.5 million, making it the most populous province in South Africa.

Etymology

The name ''Gauteng'' comes from the Sesotho word meaning "Place of Gold", the historical Sesotho name for Johannesburg and surrounding areas. This referred to the thriving gold industry in the province following the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg. The Sesotho word is a locative derived from the Afrikaans ''goud'' (gold) plus the locative suffix "-ng." When properly pronounced, the first letter of the name Gauteng is a voiceless velar fricative, pronounced similarly to the "ch" in the German ''achtung'' or Scottish ''loch'' and the same as the Dutch "g" or the Spanish "g" as in ''gente''. This pronunciation is natural in both the Sesotho and Afrikaans languages.

History

Gauteng, formerly known as Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV), was carved out of the old Transvaal province in 1994, although the terminology "PWV", describing the region existed long before that. Tokyo Sexwale was elected as the first premier of the province that same year. Politically, it has been dominated by the ANC throughout its post-apartheid history.

Law and Government

Since 6 May 2009, the premier has been Nomvula Mokonyane. Paul Mashatile, the former provincial minister of finance and economic affairs and the current provincial chairman of ANC in the Gauteng Province, was Premier from 7 October 2008 until Mokonyane's election. He replaced former premier Mbhazima Shilowa, who was premier from 1999. Shilowa resigned in protest against the decision by the ANC national executive committee (NEC) to remove former president Thabo Mbeki from office.

Geography & Climate

Gauteng's southern border is the Vaal River, which separates it from the Free State. It also borders on North West to the west, Limpopo to the north, and Mpumalanga to the east. Gauteng is the only landlocked province of South Africa without a foreign border. Most of Gauteng is on the Highveld, a high-altitude grassland (circa above sea-level). Between Johannesburg and Pretoria there are low parallel ridges and undulating hills, some part of the Magaliesberg Mountains and the Witwatersrand. The north of the province is more subtropical, due to its lower altitude and is mostly dry savanna habitat.

The climate is mostly influenced by altitude. Even though the province is at a subtropical latitude, the climate is comparatively cooler, especially in Johannesburg, at above sea level (Pretoria is at ). Most precipitation occurs as brief afternoon thunderstorms; however, relative humidity never becomes uncomfortable. Winters are crisp and dry with frost occurring often in the southern areas. Snow is rare, but it has occurred on some occasions in the Johannesburg metropolitan area.

Johannesburg averages: January maximum: (min: ), June maximum: (min: ), annual precipitation: Pretoria averages: January maximum: (min: ), June maximum: (min: ), annual precipitation:

Municipalities

Gauteng Province is divided into 3 metropolitan municipalities, and 3 district municipalities which are further divided into 9 local municipalities). {| |-valign=top |

'''City of Johannesburg

'''City of Tshwane

'''Ekurhuleni

'''Metsweding

* Nokeng tsa Taemane

* Kungwini

|

'''Sedibeng

* Emfuleni

* Midvaal

* Lesedi

|

'''West Rand

* Mogale City

* Randfontein

* Westonaria

*Merafong City

* District Management Area (DMA)

|}

Demographics

[[File:Gauteng population density map.svg|thumb|Population density in Gauteng ]] [[File:Gauteng dominant language map.svg|thumb|Dominant home languages in Gauteng ]] Gauteng Province is home to 8.8 million people (2001 South African 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.

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

The province's age distribution was 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.

In the province, 14.4% of residents speak Afrikaans at home, 12.5% speak English, 1.5% speak IsiNdebele, 7.3% speak IsiXhosa, 20.5% speak IsiZulu, 10.7% speak Sepedi, 13.1% speak Sesotho, 8.4% speak Setswana, 1.2% speak SiSwati, 4.2% speak Tshivenda, and 5.1% 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, 5.5% have completed only primary school, 34.3% have had some high 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.

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.

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%;" |+Distribution of annual income of Gauteng province |- !Category ! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! |- |No income || bgcolor="Silver"| || colspan=40|2.0% |- |R 12 – R 4 800 ($2 – $721) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=2| ||colspan=40|6.4% |- |R 4 812 – R 9 600 ($723 – $1,443) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=5| || colspan=40|13.0% |- |R 9 612 – R 19 200 ($1,445 – $2,886) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=9.6| || colspan=32|24.0% |- |R 19 212 – R 38 400 ($2,888 – $5,772) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=8| || colspan=38|20.4% |- |R 38 412 – R 76 800 ($5,774 – $11,543) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=6.3| || colspan=36|15.8% |- |R 76 812 – R 153 600 ($11,545 – $23,087) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=4.2| || colspan=36|10.4% |- |R 153 612 – R 307 200 ($23,089 – $46,174) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=2| || colspan=39|5.0% |- |R 307 212 – R 614 400 ($46,176 – $92,348) || bgcolor="Silver" colspan=1| || colspan=39|1.8% |- |R 614 412 or more ($92,350+) || colspan=40|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 33.9% of its gross domestic product (GDP). Indeed Gauteng generates 10% 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 – comprising primarily the cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni (the East Rand) and 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. 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. The Gautrain Rapid Rail Link is an attempt to remedy this problem, by providing efficient high-speed rail between Pretoria, Sandton, Johannesburg and OR Tambo International Airport.

In May and June 2008 Gauteng, along with other provinces within South Africa, saw extremely violent xenophobic attacks on foreigners. The instigating factors of these attacks have been largely attributed to the South African Government's inability to deal with the massive influx of foreign nationals and its poor service delivery.

Education

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

University of Limpopo (Formed after the merger of Medical University of South Africa and University of the North)

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 which also include the former campus of Mamelodi Vista University

University of South Africa: Also known as UNISA and incorporating the Technikon South Africa and the distance learning unit of Vista University

Vaal University of Technology: Previously known as Vaal Triangle Technikon

University of the Witwatersrand

Regenesys Management

Monash University South Africa Campus

Gauteng Department of Education has embarked on a project to provide fully functional ICT laboratories to all public schools in Gauteng. The name of this project is Gauteng OnLine.

Conservation

Although Gauteng province is dominated by the urban areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria, it has several nature reserves.

Botanical Gardens

Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden

Johannesburg Botanical Garden

Pretoria National Botanical Garden

Provincial reserves

There are 5 provincial reserves managed by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs

Abe Bailey Nature Reserve

Alice Glockner Nature Reserve

Marievale Bird Sanctuary

Roodeplaat Nature Reserve

Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve

Private and Municipal Reserves

Kromdraai Conservancy

Krugersdorp Nature Reserve

Rietvlei Nature Reserve

Wonderboom Nature Reserve

Gauteng is also home to the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site

Sport and recreation

Several teams from Gauteng play in the country's top-level association football (more commonly referred to as soccer) league, the Premier Soccer League (PSL), including Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Rugby, or more accurately rugby union, is also 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 Lions (previously the 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.

Cricket is also widely popular among all cultural groups in the country, and is the only sport to feature in the top two among all of South Africa's major ethnic/racial groups. The Highveld Lions represent both Gauteng and North West in the country's three domestic competitions—the first-class SuperSport Series, the List A one-day MTN Domestic Championship and the Twenty20 Standard Bank Pro 20 Series.

Popular individual sports include tennis and golf. Walking and hiking are also popular in Gauteng.

The Sterkfontein caves, and the Wonder Cave Kromdraai are in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.

See also

List of Speakers of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature

PWV

References

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-10-07-mashatile-elected-to-lead-gauteng

External links

Gauteng Provincial Government

Gauteng Tourism Authority

Category:Provinces of South Africa Category:States and territories established in 1994

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