Limpopo () is the northernmost

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is named after the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River () rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mou ...

, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of

Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) ...

settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountainous vicinity and named the area after their leader. The Lebombo mountains are also named after them. The river has been called the Vhembe by local Venda communities of the area. The capital and largest city in the province is

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

, while the provincial legislature is situated in

Lebowakgomo Lebowakgomo is the seat of the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality and was the capital of the former Bantustan of Lebowa. Lebowakgomo lies southeast of the Limpopo capital of Polokwane. The majority of Lebowakgomo's inhabitants speak SePedi. Hist ...

. The province is made up of three former

Bantustans A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu homeland, a black homeland, a black state or simply known as a homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of the Union of South Africa (1910–1961) and later the Republic of Sout ...

Lebowa Lebowa was a Bantustan ("homeland") located in the Transvaal Province, Transvaal in northeastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-gover ...

Gazankulu Gazankulu was a Bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was located in both the Northern Transvaal, now Limpopo province and Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalang ...

and

Venda Venda ( ), officially the Republic of Venda (; ), was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black hom ...

and part of the former Transvaal province. The Limpopo province was established as one of nine provinces after the

1994 South African general election General elections were held in South Africa between 26 and 29 April 1994. The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage. The election was c ...

. The province's name was first "Northern Transvaal", later changed to "Northern Province" on 28 June 1995, with two other provinces. The name was later changed again in 2002 to the Limpopo Province. Limpopo is made up of three main ethnic groups: the Pedi, the

and the

. Traditional leaders and chiefs still form a strong backbone of the province's political landscape. Established in terms of the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders Act, Act 5 of 2005, the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders' main function is to advise the government and the legislature on matters related to custom, tradition, and culture, including developmental initiatives that affect rural communities. On 18 August 2017, Kgosi Malesela Dikgale was re-elected as the Chairperson of the Limpopo House of Traditional Leaders.

History

The world heritage site of the Mapungubwe National Park boasts archaeological finds from the period of a powerful local kingdom that ruled here between 800 CE and 1290 existed. The remains of a settlement from the period between the 15th and 17th century can be seen in Thulamela in the northern part of the Kruger National Park. Until 1994 it was the northern part of the former Transvaal Province. For a short period since 1994 it was called the Province of NorthReern Transvaal and thereafter, through the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of the public of South Africa Amendment Act No. 20 of 1995 from July 1995 initially ''Northern Province''. The province was named after the

by decision of the provincial assembly in 2002, and at the same time most of the cities on its territory were renamed. However, the renaming of the province required an amendment to the South African constitution, which was passed with an amending law was made in 2003. In 2013, Stan Mathabatha replaced his predecessor Cassel Mathale (both ANC) as Prime Minister.

Geography

Limpopo Province shares international borders with districts and provinces of three countries:

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

's Central and Kgatleng districts to the west and northwest respectively,

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Matabeleland South Matabeleland South is a province in southwestern Zimbabwe. With a population of 683,893 as of the 2012 Zimbabwean census. It is the country's least populated province after Matabeleland North.Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North were est ...

and

Masvingo Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city lies close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and clos ...

provinces to the north and northeast respectively, and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Gaza Province Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique. Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is t ...

to the east. Limpopo is the link between South Africa and countries further afield in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. On its southern edge, from east to west, it shares borders with the South African provinces of

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

, and North West. Its border with Gauteng includes that province's

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

axis, the most industrialised metropolis on the continent. The province is central to regional, national, and international developing markets. Limpopo contains much of the

Waterberg Biosphere The Waterberg () is a mountainous massif of approximately in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. The average height of the mountain range is 600 m with a few peaks rising up to 2,000 m above sea level. Vaalwater town is located just north ...

, a

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

of approximately which is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named a UNESCO

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

.C. Michael Hogan, Mark L. Cooke and Helen Murray, ''The Waterberg Biosphere'', Lumina Technologies, 22 May 2006.

Law and government

The current Premier of Limpopo Province is

Phophi Ramathuba Phophi Constance Ramathuba (born 15 August 1973) is a South African politician and medical doctor serving as Premier of Limpopo since June 2024. A member of the African National Congress, she was sworn into the provincial legislature in May 2015 ...

, representing the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

Municipalities

Limpopo Province is divided into five district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 25 local municipalities:

District municipalities

* Capricorn District ** Blouberg ** Lepele-Nkumpi ** Molemole **

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

* Mopani District ** Ba-Phalaborwa ** Greater Giyani ** Greater Letaba ** Greater Tzaneen ** Maruleng * Sekhukhune District ** Elias Motsoaledi ** Ephraim Mogale ** Fetakgomo Tubatse ** Makhuduthamaga * Vhembe District ** Makhado **

Musina Musina (), also known as Messina, is the northernmost town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is located near the confluence of the Limpopo River with the Sand River and the border to Zimbabwe with a population of between 20,000 and 4 ...

** Collins Chabane ** Thulamela * Waterberg District **

Bela-Bela Bela-Bela (Tswana language, Tswana/Pedi for "the pot that boils") - formerly known as Warmbaths, Afrikaans: Warmbad- is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Deriving its name from the geothermic hot springs around which the town was b ...

Lephalale Lephalale, formerly known as Ellisras, is a coal mining town in the Limpopo province of South Africa immediately east of the Waterberg Coalfield. The town was established as Ellisras in 1960 and named after Patrick Ellis and Piet Erasmus who sett ...

** Modimolle–Mookgophong ** Mogalakwena ** Thabazimbi

Economy

Limpopo has a total population of 6.015 million with 1.641 million households. The province has a relatively high Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.710, which is the third highest in South Africa.

Agriculture

The bushveld is

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk (production)). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...

country, where extensive ranching operations are often supplemented by controlled hunting. About 80% of South Africa's game hunting industry is in Limpopo.

Sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

s are cultivated in the

and

Modimolle Modimolle, also known as Nylstroom, is a town located near the southern edge of the Waterberg Massif in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is a medium-sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming (citrus, grapes and cattle) as well ...

areas. Modimolle is also known for its table

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

s. An embryotic wine industry is growing in Limpopo. Tropical fruit, such as

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

s, litchis,

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

es and pawpaws, as well as a variety of nuts, are grown in the

Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a town situated in the Mopani district of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region. It is Limpopo's second largest to ...

and Louis Trichardt areas. Tzaneen is also at the centre of extensive

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

, and

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

plantations and a major

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

industry. Most of the farmers and households lack a water supply which makes them drill boreholes on their premises.

Housing

Most Limpopo residents live in rural areas; this has led to a new phenomenon of rural development, where the residents have invested in building lavish homes on their tribal land. Limpopo rural houses have been profiled by TV channels, lifestyle vloggers, social media influencers, and Africa's biggest facts brand, Africa Facts Zone. According to 96.2% of Limpopo live in formal housing, above the national average of 84.0%. This makes Limpopo the province with the highest percentage of people living in formal housing in South Africa.

Mining

Limpopo's rich mineral deposits include the platinum group metals, iron ore, chromium, high- and middle-grade

coking coal Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content. It is made by heating coal or petroleum in the absence of air. Coke is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but also as a fuel in stoves ...

, diamonds,

antimony Antimony is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Sb () and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient t ...

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

, and copper, as well as mineral reserves like gold, emeralds,

scheelite Scheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral with the chemical formula Ca W O4. It is an important ore of tungsten (wolfram). Scheelite is originally named after Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742–1786). Well-formed crystals are sought ...

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

vermiculite Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral which undergoes significant expansion when heated. Exfoliation occurs when the mineral is heated sufficiently; commercial furnaces can routinely produce this effect. Vermiculite forms by the weathe ...

silicon Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a membe ...

, and

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

. Commodities such as

black granite In the construction industry, black rocks that share the hardness and strength of granitic rocks are known as black granite. In geological terms, black granite might be gabbro, diabase, basalt, diorite, norite, or anorthosite Anorthosite () ...

corundum Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium. It is a rock (geology), rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparency and translucency, transparent material, but ...

, and

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

are also found. Mining contributes to over a fifth of the provincial economy. Limpopo has the largest

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

deposit in South Africa. The

Waterberg Coalfield The Waterberg Coalfield is an extensive deposit of coal in the Ellisras Basin in South Africa, lying mostly in the Waterberg District Municipality of the Limpopo province. Mining is increasing, both for export and for local power production, and i ...

, the eastern extension of

Mmamabula Mmamabula is a planned coal mine and coal-fired power station to the east of the main road and rail corridor in Botswana between Gaborone and Francistown and south of the Serorome River. The power station would be near to the village of Mmaph ...

coalfields, is estimated to contain 40% of South Africa's coal reserves.

Tourism

The Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism has targeted the province as a preferred eco-tourism destination. Its Environment and Tourism Programme encompasses tourism, protected areas, and community environment development to achieve sustainable economic growth.http://www.search.gov.za/info/previewDocument.jsp?dk=/data/static/info/speeches/2010/10040713351001.htm@Gov&q=%3Cphrase%3E+Issued+by:+Department...&t=P+Moloto:+Limpopo+Economic+Development+Environment+and+Tourism+Prov+Budget+Speech+2010/11 While Limpopo is one of South Africa's poorest provinces, it is rich in wildlife, which gives it an advantage in attracting tourists. Both the private and public sectors are investing in tourism development. Near

Modjadjiskloof Modjadjiskloof (formerly Duiwelskloof) is a small town situated at the foot of the escarpment in the Limpopo province of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost count ...

, at

Sunland Baobab Sunland Baobab (also Platland Baobab, Mooketsi Baobab, Tree Bar, Big Baobab or Pub Tree) is a well-known enormous baobab (''Adansonia digitata'') in South Africa. The tree is located on Sunland Farm (Platland Farm), near Modjadjiskloof (previous ...

farms, there is a large Baobab tree which has been fashioned into a relatively spacious pub.

Transportation and communications

The province has excellent road, rail, and air links. The N1 route from

, which extends the length of the province, is the busiest overland route in Africa in terms of cross-border trade in raw materials and beneficiated goods. The port of

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa's busiest, is served directly by the province, as are the ports of

Richards Bay Richards Bay () is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on a 30 square kilometre lagoon of the Mhlatuze River, which makes it one of the country's largest harbours. Richards Bay also has the deepest natural harbour on the Africa ...

and

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

. Polokwane International Airport is situated just north of

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

. Limpopo province contains approximately 56 airports and airstrips.

Education

The Department of Education is responsible for effecting quality education and training for all. The Department has to coordinate all professional development and support. Policies, systems, and procedures had to be developed.

Educational institutions

As of December 2020, 12.9% of the Limpopo population had attained some post-school qualifications. The following higher education institutions are found in Limpopo: *

University of Limpopo The University of Limpopo () is a public university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institution ...

(

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

Mankweng Mankweng Mankweng, also called Turfloop, is a township in Capricorn District Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa, and home to the University of Limpopo. It is a university township. Mankweng or Turfloop is also the de facto name f ...

) *

University of Venda The University of Venda (Univen; , ) is a South African comprehensive rural-based institution, located in Thohoyandou in Limpopo province. It was established in 1981 under the then Republic of Venda government. History The university was es ...

(

Thohoyandou Thohoyandou () is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre of Vhembe District Municipality and Thulamela Local Municipality. It is also known for being the former capital of the bantustan of Venda. History ...

) *

Tshwane University of Technology Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; ) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West and Technikon Pretoria. As the number of ...

(Polokwane Campus) * Capricorn College for TVET (Polokwane) * Lephalale TVET College (Lephalale) * Letaba TVET College (Tzaneen) * Mopani South East TVET College (Phalaborwa) * Sekhukhune TVET College (Motetema) *Vhembe TVET College (Venda) * Waterberg TVET College (Mokopane)

Sports

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

was one of South Africa's host cities for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, with matches being played at the

Peter Mokaba Stadium The Peter Mokaba Stadium is a football and rugby union stadium in Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg), South Africa, that was used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It has a capacity to host 45,500 spectators but for the purposes of the 2010 FIFA World ...

. Football clubs in the province include Real Rovers, Silver Stars,

Black Leopards Black Leopards FC is a South African professional association football, football club based in Thohoyandou, Vhembe, Vhembe Region, Limpopo, that plays in the National First Division. History The club was founded in 1983 by business people in ...

Polokwane City Polokwane City Football Club is a South African professional football club based in the city of Polokwane in the Limpopo province that currently plays in the first tier South African Premiership. The team plays its home matches at the Peter Mok ...

Magesi Magesi F.C. is a football club located in Moletši, Limpopo, Kgabo Park, Limpopo, South Africa. The club was established in 2011. History The club was originally called Tambo F.C. and won promotion from the SAFA Regional League, SAB League t ...

, Baroka,

Ria Stars Ria Stars was a South African football club from Pietersburg. The club was owned by businesswoman Ria Ledwaba and nicknamed ''Manyora (Petty Thieves)''. They were formed in 1989 and in 2000 they were promoted to the Premiership after winning t ...

and Dynamos. *

Rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

: Limpopo has no provincial rugby team of its own; it is represented in the domestic

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

by the

-based

Blue Bulls The Blue Bulls (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodacom Blue Bulls, is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by their second team t ...

. The Blue Bulls also operate a

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

franchise, the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

. Limpopo nonetheless produces its share of top players. Most notably, the second most-

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

forward in the history of the country's national team,

Victor Matfield Victor Matfield (born 11 May 1977) is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and South African rugby union captains, captained the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team (Springboks) as ...

, is a native of Polokwane. *

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

: The province is home to

Limpopo Pride Limpopo Pride is a South African professional basketball team located in Limpopo, South Africa. The team competes in the Basketball National League.Basketball National League The Basketball National League (BNL) is the pre-eminent male professional basketball league in South Africa. The league was founded in 2013, however, before the Premier Basketball League had been running as the country's premier basketball leagu ...

Demographics

The population of Limpopo consists of several ethnic groups distinguished by culture, language, and race. 97.3% of the population is

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 2.4% is

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2% is

Coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

, and 0.1% is

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n/ Asian. The province has the smallest percentage and second smallest total number of

White South Africans White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original colonists, known as Afr ...

in the country. However, there are several localities with a White majority, notably

Hoedspruit Hoedspruit (Afrikaans for ''Hat Creek'') is a town situated at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg (Afrikaans for "Small Dragon Mountains" range), in the Limpopo province of South Africa, on the railway line from Tzaneen to Kaapmuiden. History ...

and

. It also has the highest Black percentage out of all the provinces. The Pedi comprise the largest percentage of the population, 52% of the province. The

Tsonga people The Tsonga people () are a Bantu ethnic group primarily native to Southern Mozambique and South Africa (Limpopo and Mpumalanga). They speak Xitsonga, a Southern Bantu language. A very small number of Tsonga people are also found in Zimbabwe ...

comprise about 24.0% of the province; the Tsonga also comprise about 11.5% of

province since the southern part of their homeland,

, was cut off from Limpopo and allocated to Mpumalanga. The

make up about 16.7%.

Afrikaners Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch people, Dutch Settler colonialism, settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in Free Burghers in the Dutch Cape Colony, 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. '' ...

make up the majority of Limpopo's White population, about 95,000 people;

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-speaking Whites number just over 20,000.

Vhembe The Vhembe District Municipality (; ) is one of the 5 districts of the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with the Beitbridge District in Zimbabwe and on the east with t ...

district has the smallest share of White people in Limpopo, about 5,000 total. In contrast, the Waterberg district has the largest share of Whites, with more than 60,000 Whites residing there.

Coloureds Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in South ...

and

Asians "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...

ns make up a tiny percentage of the province's total population.

HIV/AIDS

At 18.5% (2007), Limpopo has a relatively high incidence of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

compared to other South African provinces. Cases rose from 14.5% to 21.5% between 2001 and 2005, with a slight fall between 2005 and 2007. However, as at 2019, the Limpopo province HIV stats sat at (13.2%) which is one of the lowest in comparison with other provinces in South Africa.

References

External links

Limpopo Provincial Government

Limpopo Tourism Agency
{{Authority control Provinces of South Africa States and territories established in 1994 1994 establishments in South Africa

History

Geography

Law and government

Municipalities

District municipalities

Economy

Agriculture

Housing

Mining

Tourism

Transportation and communications

Education

Educational institutions

Sports

Demographics

HIV/AIDS

See also

References

External links