Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern

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 the capital of the

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 ...

province. Located on the Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the

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 ...

border, east of

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 ...

and north of the

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

border. Mbombela was one of the host cities of 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. ...

History

San rock art and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

archaeological evidence indicate the area has a long history of human habitation. Construction for the Mpumalanga legislature revealed farming settlements, storage pits, burial sites, and pottery ranging from the 6th to 17th century. The presence of cattle bones at the Riverside site is thought to be evidence that early Nguni practices of labola originated in eastern

. The city was founded in 1895 by three brothers of the Nel family who grazed their cattle around the site in the winter months. During the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, Nelspruit served briefly as the seat of government for the

South African Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republics, Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result ...

, an independent Boer republic (not to be confused with the

Republic of 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 ...

). The settlement was a key stopover for the Eastern Railway built by the Netherlands-South African Railway Company in the late 19th century which ran from the newly discovered

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...

goldfields to Delagoa Bay in

Portuguese East Africa Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

(modern-day

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 ...

). The discovery of gold in Mpumalanga, such as at Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton, encouraged further development. The history of Nelspruit occurred along segregated lines. Under apartheid’s policy of

separate development Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, Black people were forcibly removed from the town to Lekazi, Kanyamazane, and other outlying areas as menial labour reserve. In the early 1970s, Nelpark was formed as a Coloured district and

Valencia Park Valencia Park is an urban community in the southeastern section of San Diego, California, United States. It is bordered by Emerald Hills and Market Street on the north, Lincoln Park and Euclid Avenue to the West, Encanto to the east, and Alta V ...

as a

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

area in the town. Youth centres, public amenities, and schools such as Nelspruit Laerskool were reserved for the town’s white population.

Name change

In October 2009, the South African government renamed the city "Mbombela", the name of the local municipality. The Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism subsequently approached the

High Court of South Africa The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provinces of South Africa, provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction ov ...

to challenge the decision, citing a lack of both consultation and city funds available to pay for roadsign and website name changes. Ultimately, the name change was upheld in May 2014 by the

North Gauteng High Court The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, ...

. Mbombela means "many people together in a small space" in

Siswati Swazi or siSwati is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 4.7 million including first and second langua ...

Education and research institutions

The city has four major public

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and a TVET college (Ehlanzeni); more schools across all age groups are being built in response to overcrowding. The city hosts the

University of Mpumalanga University of Mpumalanga is based in Mbombela and in Siyabuswa, South Africa. It was established in 2014, initially accommodating a modest intake of one hundred and forty students. It incorporates the infrastructure of three existing institutio ...

(UMP). Established in 2014 with an intake of 140 students, it had over 4,300 students as of 2020. The

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 ...

has a satellite campus in the city with over 1,500 students, and

UNISA The University of South Australia is a Public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along ...

has an office offering

online courses Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech", ...

. The city is home to the

Agricultural Research Council The Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) was a British Research Council responsible for funding and managing scientific and technological developments in farming and horticulture. History The AFRC was formed in 1983 from its predecessor ...

's Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops and the

Lowveld National Botanical Garden The Lowveld National Botanical Garden, one of the nine National Botanical Gardens of South Africa is located just outside Mbombela, Mpumalanga at the confluence of the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River and Nels River, which are sep ...

. Citrus Research International (CRI) has a major facility in the city. The Lowveld College of Agriculture, located near UMP, also conducts research in the field of

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Transport

Road

The city is on the

Maputo Corridor The Maputo Corridor is a major trade corridor which connects the Gauteng, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa with Maputo, which is a port and the capital of Mozambique. The corridor comprises roads - including the N4 toll road (from ...

, a major trade route linking

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 ...

which, with the

Trans-Kalahari Corridor The Trans-Kalahari Corridor is a paved highway corridor that provides a direct route from the port of Walvis Bay and Windhoek in central Namibia, through Botswana, to Pretoria in Gauteng province in South Africa. It initially cost approximately 8 ...

, forms a transport trunk that crosses the entire sub-continent from

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to Maputo on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. The N4 toll route is the main arterial route forming the Maputo Corridor, connecting to

eMalahleni Witbank (), officially eMalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wago ...

and Pretoria in the west with Maputo in the east. A new Northern Bypass was built for the N4 toll route (opened on 13 June 2010) and the old road through the city centre (Samora Machel Drive) was redesignated as the R104 route. Other roads in the area include the R40 route (which connects to Barberton, a border with

eSwatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

in the south and with White River in the north) and the R37 route (which connects to Mashishing in the north-west). Tolling The N4, managed by Trans African Concessions (TRAC), involves payment of

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Toll road, a type of road which for which payment is required for passage ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road to ...

: Traffic heading on the N4 ''E'' (the direction of

) must pass through the Nkomazi Toll Plaza, about 42 kilometres (26 mi) east of Mbombela, while traffic heading on the N4 ''W'' (the direction of

) must pass through the Machado Toll Plaza, about 107 kilometres (66 mi) west of Mbombela.

Rail

Mbombela railway station lies on the Pretoria–Maputo railway.

Air

Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport () is located north east of Mbombela in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Construction began in 2001, and it replaced the smaller Nelspruit Airport. It now serves travelers to Kruger National Park. The airp ...

, located about north east of the city, began operations in October 2002. Scheduled flights operate to locations within South Africa and abroad (to

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

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 ...

and

). The complex has a runway which can accommodate aircraft up to the size of a

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

. The airport currently handles about 250,000 passengers per annum.

Nelspruit Airport Nelspruit Airport, South Africa is located about south west of the city of Mbombela. It was the city's original and only airport serving the region until the opening of Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in 2001. The airport is owned an ...

, located about south west of the city, is the city's original airport owned and operated by the municipality. It primarily handles

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

aircraft, and several aircraft maintenance, firefighting, charter and training companies are based at the airport.

Suburbs and townships

This list includes suburbs within the city proper of Mbombela as well as surrounding satellite townships and villages: * West Acres *Steiltes *Sonheuwel * Riverside *

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

*Nelsville *

*Nelindia *Stonehenge * Kaapschehoop *Kamagugu * KaNyamazane *Vintonia *The Rest *Nelspruit Central (CBD) *

Ngodwana Ngodwana is a town in Ehlanzeni District Municipality in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South A ...

*Pumlanga *KaNyamazane *Pienaar *Schagen *KaBokweni *

Matsulu Matsulu is a township in the Mbombela Local Municipality under the Ehlanzeni District Municipality in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It lies between Kruger National Park and the N4 road (South Africa), N4 national road 41 kilometres (25 m ...

*Karino *Masoyi *KaMsogwaba

Tourism

The city is a major stopover point for tourists travelling to

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

and to Mozambique. Other tourism attractions nearby include

Sudwala Caves The Sudwala Caves in Mpumalanga, South Africa, are set in Precambrian dolomite rock, which was first laid down about 2.8 billion years ago. The caves themselves formed about 240 million years ago. They are one of the oldest caves in the w ...

, and God's Window in the

Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (or Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve) is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohr ...

, a lookout point which provides a panoramic view over the famous Drakensberg Escarpment. The city is the nearest major South African city to Mozambique's capital,

, and as such the city receives significant tourism from Mozambican locals. The city is also home to the Lowveld National Botanical Garden, set in 154 hectares of land along the eastern bank of the Crocodile River and containing around 500 species of plant species indigenous to the area.

Sport

Alkmaar Raceway

The Alkmaar Raceway is a

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

track. It hosted the 2008 FIM Motocross World Championship South African Motocross Grand Prix.

Mbombela Stadium

Mbombela Stadium was built as an

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 ...

and

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 ...

stadium for the

. Finished in November 2009 and costing , it has a capacity of 43,500; and the construction process contained several controversies. The stadium hosted four 2010 FIFA World Cup matches and is the current home of the Pumas rugby team. In 2013 it hosted two rugby test matches between

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, followed by

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Mbombela Golf Club

Mbombela Golf Club was originally the Nelspruit Golf Club until 2017. Following an incident in which a black caddie was allegedly assaulted by four white golfers, the club's name was changed, alongside other commitments to increase the number of black staff and pay caddies a basic salary.

Media

Print

Lowveld Media is a major printer and publisher of newsprint materials in the region. Major

newspapers A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

include the ''Lowvelder'', ''Mpumalanga News'' and ''Nelspruit Post''. African Eye News Service is an established news agency in the city which writes articles for national newspapers and websites.

Broadcasting

The

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

has a regional office in the city. Jacaranda FM operates a studio near the Emnotweni Casino. Ligwalagwala FM is the largest

-owned radio station in the city and the Mpumalanga Province. It is a

public broadcaster Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

which primarily broadcasts in the

Swazi language Swazi or siSwati is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 4.7 million including first and second langua ...

. RISE FM (originally named MPowerFM before it was bought out by the

Times Media Group Arena Holdings, formerly known as Tiso Blackstar Group, Johnnic Communications, Avusa and the Times Media Group, is a South African media company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It publishes several major South African newspapers, includin ...

) is an independent commercial radio station broadcasting in English from studios in the city and eMalahleni to the province of Mpumalanga, and the

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

local community radio station Radio Laeveld 100.5fm broadcasts to the

Lowveld Veld ( or , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''veld'', field), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide-open, rural landscape in Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, ...

area from the city. The town is mentioned in the TV show The Chelsea Detective S2 E3.

Culture

The city contains several entertainment venues, the most prominent being the Emnotweni Casino complex. The city has a civic centre (built in 1994) with a large theatre, which can be hired by both amateurs and professionals, but recently the centre has fallen into disrepair. Mbombela has its own version of concert in the park with annual performances by musicians in the

Economy

The international grilled-chicken fast food restaurant chain Galito's was founded and is headquartered in the city.

Finance

The city is the financial and banking capital of

Retail

The city has a strong consumer-based retail industry boosted significantly by neighbouring

Mozambican Mozambican may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mozambique, a country in southeastern Africa * A person from Mozambique, or of Mozambican descent: ** Demographics of Mozambique ** Culture of Mozambique ** List of Mozambicans * Mozambic ...

and

Swazi Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa * Swazi language * Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked count ...

tourists. There are various major

shopping centers A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in Commonwealth English (see spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza, or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The fir ...

, notably the Riverside and Ilanga malls. Recent developments include the Crossing Shopping Center and the City Center.

Industry

The city is home to the Manganese Metal Company (MMC) and Delta EMD, which together form one of the largest

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

processing facilities in the world. There are several medium industries which support the agriculture and forestry sectors.

Agriculture

The city is a key agricultural processing hub for northeastern South Africa. The

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia—specifically, northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland. Two species of the genus are comm ...

industry is centred within the city, with an annual production for the 2017/18 production year of 26,400 tons NIS (nut-in shell at 1.5% kernel moisture content). There are many citrus farms and the

canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...

juicing Juicing is the process of extracting juice from plant tissues such as fruit or vegetables. Overview There are many methods of juicing, from squeezing fruit by hand to wide-scale extraction with industrial equipment. Juicing is generally the ...

and extract of

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Mandarin orange, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, ...

and other produce is a large business for the area. Fertile soils and the

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

climate provide perfect conditions for the growing of citrus and tropical

fruits In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

, mainly

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 ...

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 ...

avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

and macadamia nuts.

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

is also big business in the region. TSB, the producer of Selati sugar, is located a few kilometres east of the city. The low-lying areas in the region is dotted with

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

farms.

Forestry

The economy is heavily reliant on the forestry sector. SAPPI has a paper mill in the small town of

, about 44 km south-west of the city which was recently upgraded to produce cellulose fibers for various applications. The city is the global headquarters of KISHUGU which is the parent company of Working on Fire. KISHUGU is also a major player in the forestry sector. The region has several timber-related industries such as lumber and saw mills as well as furniture, crate and carton manufacturing businesses.

International relations

The city is twinned with: *

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; ), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daughter of A ...

, Portugal

has a consulate in the city.Missões Consulares
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation

Climate

The city features a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cwa'') with mild winters and hot summers. Summers are hot and somewhat humid complete with high precipitation. Winters in the city are dry, with relatively warm temperatures during the day and chilly temperatures at night.

People

* Beth Diane Armstrong, sculptor *

Matthew Clay Matthew Clay (March 25, 1754May 27, 1815) was a Virginia lawyer, planter, Continental Army officer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives and the Virginia House of Delegates representing Pittsylvania County. E ...

, swimmer, gold medallist in the 50m backstroke at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

(representing England) *

Faf de Klerk François de Klerk (born 19 October 1991) known by his nickname Faf, is a South African professional rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Japan Rugby League One club Yokohama Canon Eagles and the South Africa national team. He was a ...

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

rugby player *

Cliff Drysdale Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a tennis announcer. Life and career Born Eric Clifford 'Cliff' Dry ...

, professional tennis player and television presenter * Robert Gumede, businessman *

Anton Haig Anton Jason Haig (born 8 May 1986) is a South African professional golfer. Golf career Haig was born in Nelspruit. He turned professional on 1 September 2004 and plays on the Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour. He has won four times worldwide wi ...

, professional golfer *

Janneman Malan Janneman Nieuwoudt Malan (born 18 April 1996) is a South African cricketer. He made his international debut for the South Africa cricket team in February 2019. Domestic and T20 career Malan was included in the North West squad for the 2016 Afr ...

, Proteas cricket team player *

Pieter Malan Pieter Jacobus Malan (born 13 August 1989) is a South African professional cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and bowls right-arm medium-fast. Since 2007, he has played first-class cricket for both Northerns and Titans. He made his internat ...

South Africa national cricket team The South Africa men's national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa. South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council. T ...

player *

Rebecca Malope } Batsogile Lovederia "Rebecca" Malope (born June 30, 1968) is a South African gospel singer. She is known as "The Queen of Gospel". Her music career spans more than three decades. She has sold at least 10 million albums worldwide, making her o ...

, gospel music personality *

Mandisa Mashego Mandisa Sibongile Mashego (born 26 August 1973) is a South African politician and feminist. A former member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), she served as the party's provincial chairperson in Gauteng from 2018 to 2020. She was also a Memb ...

, member of the

Gauteng Provincial Legislature The Gauteng Provincial Legislature is the legislature of the South African province of Gauteng. It is a unicameral body of 80 members elected every five years. The current legislature, the seventh, was 2019 Gauteng provincial election, elected on ...

Heyneke Meyer Heyneke Meyer (born 6 October 1967) is a professional rugby union coach, best known for coaching the Springboks from 2012 until 2015. Prior to coaching the Springboks, he spent many years at the domestic level in South Africa before coaching L ...

, Springbok rugby coach * Nicholas Nkuna, actor *

Ray Phiri Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (23 March 1947 – 12 July 2017) was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to Thabethe Phiri, a Malawian immigrant worker, and South African guitarist nicknamed "Just Now" Phiri. He ...

, musician *

Monique Smit Margaret Gertrude Mary (Monique) Smit (born 9 April 1989) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. Early life Monique grew up in Volendam as the younger sister of Jan Smit. After finishing school, she attended Don Bosco College, and later ...

, professional golfer *

Renske Stoltz Renske Stoltz is a South African netball player. Early life Stoltz was born in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga before shifting with her family to Rustenburg, North West. She has played netball for the past seventeen years and attended Hoërskool Rustenb ...

South Africa national netball team The South Africa national netball team, also known as the SPAR Proteas, represent Netball South Africa in international netball tournaments, such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Netball Quad Series and the Fast5 Netball W ...

player * Lucas Thwala,

South Africa national football team The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for soccer in South Africa. Nicknamed Bafana Bafana (The Boys in Zulu), the ...

player *

Duane Vermeulen Daniel Johannes "Duane" Vermeulen (born 3 July 1986) is a former South African professional rugby union player who previously played for the South Africa national team. He also previously played for Ulster Rugby in the United Rugby Championsh ...

, Springbok rugby player *

Pedrie Wannenburg Pedrie Johannes Wannenburg (2 January 1981 – 22 April 2022) was a South African rugby union player. He last coached for Austin Elite Rugby in North American Major League Rugby. He played for Austin in 2018, Denver Stampede in the now defunct ...

, Springbok rugby player * Costa Titch, Hip Hop personality

References

External links

Mbombela Local Municipality
*
Ehlanzeni District Municipality

Pacific Trail MFG
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1905 Populated places in the Mbombela Local Municipality Provincial capitals in South Africa

Mbombela Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east o ...

1905 establishments in South Africa