Orania

For other uses, see Orania (disambiguation).

Orania
Autonomous town[a]
Aerial view of the town
Bust of Paul Kruger
Koeksister Sculpture
Pivot Irrigation in Orania
Flag of Orania
Flag
Anthem: The Hymn of Orania
Orania is located in Northern Cape
Orania
Orania
Orania is located in South Africa
Orania
Orania
Orania is located in Africa
Orania
Orania
Coordinates: 29°49′S 24°24′E / 29.817°S 24.400°E / -29.817; 24.400
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceNorthern Cape
DistrictPixley ka Seme
MunicipalityThembelihle
Established1991
Named forOrange River
Government
 • TypeOrania Representative Council
Area
[1]
 • Total
8.95 km2 (3.46 sq mi)
Elevation
1,180 m (3,870 ft)
Population
 (2023)[2][3]
 • Total
2,874
 • Density320/km2 (830/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
 • White97.2%
First languages (2011)
[1]
 • Afrikaans97.2%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
8752
PO box
8752
Area code053
Websitewww.orania.co.za

Orania (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ʊəˈrɑːnia]) is a white separatist[4][5] South African town founded by Afrikaners.[6] It is located along the Orange River in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province.[7] The town is situated on the R369 highway, and is 871 kilometres (541 mi) from Cape Town and approximately 680 kilometres (420 mi) from Pretoria.[8] Its climate is semi-arid.

The town was founded with the goal of creating a stronghold for the Afrikaner minority group, the Afrikaans language and the Afrikaner culture through the creation of an Afrikaner state known as a Volkstaat.[9][10][11] The town is generally described by outside observers and scholars as "Whites-only" and as an attempt to revive apartheid, although the community denies this.[5][7][12][13][14] Living in the town requires application, and acceptance is dependent upon being Afrikaner, demonstrating fluency in Afrikaans, a clean criminal record, and sharing the community's values and goals.[15] Afrikaner Calvinism is an important aspect of local culture. While the South African government has stated that it is opposed to the idea of a Whites-only community, it has generally ignored the town.[16][17]

The town's economy is focused on self-sufficiency and is largely based on agriculture, notably of pecan nuts. Orania prints its own money-like coupons which can be used to purchase in its stores and maintains the last transitional representative council in South Africa, but receives no national funding. The town has pursued energy independence primarily through solar power, constructed its own sewage works, and has experimented with introducing its own cryptocurrency as a replacement for cash.[18][19][20][21] In 2022, Orania's landfill site was the only one in the Northern Cape region to fully comply with government environmental and health regulations.[22]

Two South African presidents have visited the town. Nelson Mandela visited in 1995, and Jacob Zuma in 2010. The town has also received visits from tribal leaders from the Xhosa and Tswana people.

The town has grown at an annual population growth that was estimated at 10% in 2019.[23] The population increased by 55% to 2,500 from 2018 to mid-2022,[18] and to 2,800 in July 2023.[24] In 2023, the town council wanted the population to grow to 10,000 as soon as possible.[25]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ a b c "Main Place "Orania"". Census 2011. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  2. ^ Strydom, Joost. "Population growth for 2021". Twitter. Retrieved 29 September 2022. Orania Dorpskantoor just announced population growth for 2021. 15% growth! (16.5% in 2020) We expect this to continue in 2022. Current average age 37. This is 2021 data but [population size] was 2,377
  3. ^ https://www.myorania.co.za/Orania-Dorpsraad-Sensus-2024.pdf
  4. ^ Sources for "white separatist":
  5. ^ a b Additional sources for "whites-only":
  6. ^ Smith, Candace; Pitts, Byron (12 April 2019). "Inside the all-white 'Apartheid town' of Orania, South Africa". ABC News. ...the town was created during the last years of apartheid, where it was meant to be a safe haven for Afrikaners. They are the ethnic group descended from the Europeans who colonized South Africa. They speak their own language, Afrikaans.
  7. ^ a b Fihlani, Pumza (6 October 2014). "Inside South Africa's whites-only town of Orania". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Pretoria — Orania, distance between cities (km, mi), Driving directions, road". za.toponavi.com. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference whitegreen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Davis, Rebecca (15 May 2013). "Orania: The place where time stood still". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  11. ^ Schonteich & Boshoff 2003, p. 44.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "'Not racist': Orania shuns 'system of cheap black labour'". The South African. Agence France-Presse. 4 September 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference beeld98 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc04 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ a b Flanagan, Jane (23 August 2023). "Afrikaners declare independence in their desert 'Eden'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  19. ^ Nair, Nivashni (27 May 2022). "Orania aims for 'energy independence'". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  20. ^ Barber, Gregory (6 June 2019). "Inside an All-White Town's Divisive Experiment With Cryptocurrency". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  21. ^ Morapela, Katleho (4 July 2022). "Orania on solar energy plan to get off Eskom grid". SABC News. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  22. ^ Head, Tom (26 July 2022). "Orania 'putting other municipalities to shame' - with THIS service". The South African. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  23. ^ Webster, Dennis (24 October 2019). "'An indictment of South Africa': whites-only town Orania is booming". The Guardian.
  24. ^ Jolly, Vincent (8 July 2023). "Boer, blanche et prospère : une semaine à Orania, qui refuse le multiculturalisme sud-africain". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  25. ^ Hermann, Dirk (24 August 2023). "Van dorp na Afrikanerstad". Marela Media (in Afrikaans).