Gauteng

Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.

Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only 1.5% of the country's land area, it is home to more than a quarter of its population (26%). Highly urbanised, the province contains the country's largest city, Johannesburg, which is also one of the largest cities in the world. Gauteng is the wealthiest province in South Africa and is considered as the financial hub of not only South Africa but the entire African continent, mostly concentrated in Johannesburg. It also contains the administrative capital, Pretoria, and other large areas such as Midrand, Vanderbijlpark, Ekurhuleni and the affluent Sandton. Gauteng is the most populous province in South Africa with a population of approximately 16.1 million people according to mid year 2022 estimates.

Etymology

The name ''Gauteng'' is derived from the Sotho-Tswana name, meaning "gold". There was a thriving gold industry in the province following the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg. In Setswana, the name was used for Johannesburg and surrounding areas long before it was adopted in 1994 as the official name of the province.

History

Gauteng was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first multiracial elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially named Pretoria– Witwatersrand–Vereeniging (PWV) and was renamed "Gauteng" on the 28th of June 1995, together with two other provinces. The term "PWV" describing the region existed long before the establishment of the province, with the "V" sometimes standing for " Vaal Triangle" rather than Vereeniging.

At the Sterkfontein caves, some of the oldest fossils of hominids have been discovered, such as Mrs. Ples and Little Foot.

Gauteng's history has only been properly documented since the 19th century and as a result, not much information regarding its history predating the 19th century is available. The recorded history of the area that is now Gauteng can be traced back to the early 19th century when settlers originating from the Cape Colony defeated chief Mzilikazi and started establishing villages in the area.

The city of Pretoria was founded in 1855 as capital of the South African Republic (ZAR - nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek). After the discovery of gold in 1886, the region became the single largest gold producer in the world and the city of Johannesburg was founded. The older city Pretoria was not subject to the same attention and development. Pretoria grew at a slower rate and was highly regarded due to its role in the Second Boer War. The Cullinan Diamond which is the largest diamond ever mined was mined near Pretoria in a nearby town called Cullinan in the year 1905.

Many crucial events happened in present-day Gauteng with regards to the anti-apartheid struggle, such as the Freedom Charter of 1955, Women's March of 1956, Sharpeville massacre of 1960, the Rivonia Trial of 1963 and 1964, the little Rivonia Trial of 1964, the Soweto Uprising of 1976 and Sharpeville Six of 1984. Today, the Apartheid Museum stands testament to these struggles in Johannesburg.

Law and government

Gauteng is governed by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, a 73-person unicameral legislature elected by party-list proportional representation. The legislature elects one of its members as Premier of Gauteng to lead the executive, and the Premier appoints an Executive Council of up to 10 members of the legislature to serve as heads of the various government departments. The provincial government is responsible for the topics allocated to it in the national constitution, including such fields as basic education, health, housing, social services, agriculture and environmental protection.

The most recent election of the provincial legislature was held on 8 May 2019, and the African National Congress (ANC) won 50.19% of the vote and a 37-seat majority in the legislature. The official opposition is the Democratic Alliance, which won 27.45% of the vote and 20 seats. Other parties represented are the Economic Freedom Fighters with eleven seats and the Freedom Front Plus with three seats. The Inkatha Freedom Party and African Christian Democratic Party hold one seat each. Premier David Makhura of the ANC was re-elected as premier on 22 May 2019, at the first meeting of the legislature after the general election. Makhura resigned from the position on 6 October 2022 and Panyaza Lesufi of the ANC was elected to replace him.

The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa, which has seats in Pretoria and Johannesburg, is a superior court with general jurisdiction over the province. Johannesburg is also home to the Constitutional Court, South Africa's highest court, and to a branch of the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court.

Geography

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.

Witwatersrand area

In the southern half of Gauteng, the Witwatersrand area is an older term describing a 120 km wide oblong-shaped conurbation from Randfontein in the West to Nigel in the East, named after the Witwatersrand, a geologically and economically important series of low ridges and their associated plateau that greater Johannesburg developed on. This area is also often referred to simply as "Witwatersrand", "the Rand" or "the Reef" (archaic, after the gold reefs that precipitated the development of the area), and was the "W" in ''PWV'', the initial name for Gauteng. It has traditionally been divided into the three areas of East Rand (governed by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality), Central Rand (approximately today's Johannesburg Municipality) and West Rand.

Climate

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.

Cities and towns

* Alberton
* Atteridgeville
* Benoni
* Boksburg
* Bronkhorstspruit
* Brakpan
* Carletonville
* Centurion
* Cullinan
* Edenvale
* Ga-Rankuwa
* Germiston
* Hammanskraal
* Heidelberg
* Johannesburg
* Kempton Park
* Krugersdorp
* Mabopane
* Mamelodi
* Magaliesburg
* Meyerton
* Midrand
* Nigel
* Parkhurst
* Pretoria
* Randburg
* Randfontein
* Roodepoort
* Rosebank
* Sandton
* Soshanguve
* Soweto
* Springs
* Tembisa
* Vanderbijlpark
* Vereeniging
* Winterveldt

Administrative divisions

The Gauteng Province (as of May 2011) is divided into three metropolitan municipalities and two district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into six local municipalities:

District municipalities

* Sedibeng District
** Emfuleni
** Lesedi
** Midvaal
* West Rand District
** Merafong City
** Mogale City
** Rand West City

Metropolitan municipalities

* Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (Pretoria)
* Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
* Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

The former Metsweding district consisting of Nokeng Tsa Taemane and Kungwini in the North of the province was incorporated into Tshwane in 2011.

Demographics

Gauteng Province is home to 16.1 million people (2022 Stats SA Mid-year estimates), with 26% of the total South African population. Gauteng Province is also the fastest growing province, experiencing a population growth of over 33% between the 1996 and 2011 censuses, thus Gauteng now has the largest population of any province in South Africa, though the smallest land area.

As of the census of 2011, there are 12,272,263 people and 3,909,022 households residing in Gauteng. The population density is 680/km². The density of households is 155.86/km². But in 2021, it is estimated to have 15,810,388 people and 5.1 million households residing in Gauteng.

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.

According to the 2011 census, in Gauteng, the most spoken languages at home were:
* Zulu: 19.8% of residents,
* English: 13.3%,
* Afrikaans: 12.4%,
* Sesotho: 11.6%,
* Sepedi: 10.6%,
* Setswana: 9.1%,
* IsiXhosa: 6.6%,
* Xitsonga: 6.6%,
* IsiNdebele: 3.2%,
* Tshivenda: 2.3%,
* SiSwati: 1.1%,
* South African Sign Language: 0.4%,
* Other languages: 3.1%.

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 mobile 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 mobile 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.