Northern Cape
| |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: Sa ǁa ǃaĩsi 'uĩsi (Strive for a better life) | |
 Location of the Northern Cape in South Africa | |
| Country |  South Africa |
| Established | 27 April 1994 |
| Capital and largest city | Kimberley |
| Districts | |
| Government | |
| • Type | Parliamentary system |
| • Premier | Zamani Saul (ANC) |
| • Legislature | Northern Cape Provincial Legislature |
| Area [1]: 9 | |
• Total | 372,889 km2 (143,973 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 1st in South Africa |
| Highest elevation | 2,156 m (7,073 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
• Total | 1,355,629 |
| • Rank | 9th in South Africa |
| • Density | 3.6/km2 (9.4/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 9th in South Africa |
| Population groups (2022) | |
| • Black | 50.1% |
| • Coloured | 41.6% |
| • White | 7.3% |
| • Indian or Asian | 0.8% |
| Languages (2022) | |
| • Afrikaans | 54.6% |
| • Tswana | 35.7% |
| • Xhosa | 4.5% |
| • English | 2.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| ISO 3166 code | ZA-NC |
| HDI (2021) | 0.701[3] high · 6th of 9 |
| GDP | US$9.1 billion[4] |
| Website | www.northern-cape.gov.za |
| Zulu | iNyakatho Kapa |
|---|---|
| Xhosa | eMntla-Koloni |
| Afrikaans | Noord-Kaap |
| Sepedi | Kapa Leboa |
| Sesotho | Kapa Leboya |
| Setswana | Kapa Bokone |
| Xitsonga | Kapa N'walungu |
| Venda | Kapa Devhula |
The Northern Cape (Afrikaans: Noord-Kaap [ˈnuərtkɑːp]; Tswana: Kapa Bokone; Xhosa: Mntla-Koloni) is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and an international park shared with Botswana. It also includes the Augrabies Falls and the diamond mining regions in Kimberley and Alexander Bay.
The Namaqualand region in the west is famous for its Namaqualand daisies. The southern towns of De Aar and Colesberg found within the Great Karoo are major transport nodes between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Gqeberha. Kuruman can be found in the north-east and is known as a mission station. It is also well known for its artesian spring and Eye of Kuruman. The Orange River flows through the province, forming the borders with the Free State in the southeast and with Namibia to the northwest. The river is also used to irrigate the many vineyards in the arid region near Upington.
Native speakers of Afrikaans comprise a higher percentage of the population in the Northern Cape than in any other province. The Northern Cape's four official languages are Afrikaans, Tswana, Xhosa, and English. Minorities speak the other official languages of South Africa and a few people speak indigenous languages such as Nama and Khwe.
The provincial motto, Sa ǁa ǃaĩsi 'uĩsi ("We go to a better life"), is in the Nǀu language of the Nǁnǂe (ǂKhomani) people. It was given in 1997 by one of the language's last speakers, Ms. Elsie Vaalbooi of Rietfontein, who has since died. It was South Africa's first officially registered motto in a Khoisan language. Subsequently, South Africa's national motto, ǃKe e ǀxarra ǁke, was derived from the extinct ǀXam language.
- ^ Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. ISBN 9780621413885. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.
- ^ a b c "Census 2022 – Statistical Release P0301.4" (PDF). 10 October 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ "Provincial gross domestic product:experimental estimates, 2013–2022" (PDF), www.statssa.gov.za