Gauteng is a province of South Africa, with Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa, as capital. After South Africa's first all-race, democratic elections in 1994, the province was formed from a part of the old Transvaal Province. It was initially named Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (or PWV) and was renamed Gauteng in December 1994.
The name Gauteng comes from the Sesotho phrase meaning Place of Gold. The name refers to the thriving gold industry in the province following the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg. The Sesotho phrase "Gauteng"was in turn derived from the Afrikaans word "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.
Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa with only 1.4 percent of the total land area of South Africa, but it is highly urbanised and has a population of 8 837 178 according to the 2001 South African National Census, the second-largest after KwaZulu-Natal.
Surprisingly to some, Pretoria, the capital of the Republic of South Africa, is also situated in Gauteng, but Johannesburg is the Gauteng capital.
Geography And Climate
Gauteng is situated on the Highveld, bordering on the Vaal River in the south, which separates it from the Free State. Gauteng also borders on North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces, and covers an area of 17,010 km2.
Gauteng shares the warm yet temperate climate of the Highveld, where thunderstorms are very common.
Gauteng Economy
Gauteng is considered the economic hub of South Africa. It plays host to a large number of overseas companies requiring a commercial base in Africa.
Gauteng, the smallest of the nine provinces, contributes more than 38 percent of South Africa's gross domestic product and 60 percent of its fiscal revenue. Gauteng generates 9 percent 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. This rapid growth has brought with it both opportunities and challenges.
As a global focal point, and gateway to the rest of southern Africa, Gauteng links a population of about the same size as the United States' to the rest of the world. This role presents some huge obstacles for Gauteng. Providing access to basic amenities, such as electricity and potable water, is one of these obstacles. Transport is also of major concern, and Johannesburg is beginning to experience the heavy traffic problems of massive cities such as Los Angeles and Bangkok.
Gauteng Municipalities
The Gauteng Province is divided into thirteen municipalities:
- City of Johannesburg
- City of Tshwane (Pretoria)
- Nokeng tsa Taemane Municipality
- Kungwini Municipality
- Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality (East Rand)
- Lesedi Municipality
- Midvaal Municipality
- Emfuleni Municipality
- Westonaria Municipality
- Merafong City Municipality
- Randfontein Municipality
- Mogale City Municipality
- West Rand Municipality
Gauteng Demographics
Gauteng Province is home to almost 20 percent of the total South African population (8.8 million people according to the 2001 Statistics South Africa Census. Gauteng Province is the fastest growing South African province, with a population growth of more than 20 percent between the 1996 and 2001 censuses!
In the Gauteng province, IsiZulu is the predominant home language, as 21.5 percent of residents speak IsiZulu at home, 14.4 percent speak Afrikaans, 13.1 percent speak Sesotho, 12.5 percent speak English, 10.7 percent speak Sepedi, 8.4 percent speak Setswana, 7.6 percent speak IsiXhosa, 5.7 percent speak Xitsonga, 1.9 percent speak IsiNdebele, 1.7 percent speak Tshivenda, 1.4 percent speak SiSwati and 1.0 percent of the population speaks a non-official language at home.
Christians comprise 76.0 percent of the residents in Gauteng, 18.4 percent of the Gauteng population have no religion, 1.7 percent are Muslim, 0.5 percent are Jewish, and 0.8 percent are Hindu and 2.6 percent have other or undetermined beliefs
22.1 percent of all Gauteng households are single person households, and the average household has 3.33 members. The median age of Gauteng residents is 27 years, 25.8 percent of the population aged 15-65 is unemployed, the median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is R 23 539 ($3,483), and males and females occur in almost dead even numbers. For every 100 females there are 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.3 males.
