KwaZulu-Natal, also referred to as KZN and known as “the garden province”; Zulu: iKwaZulu-Natali; Xhosa: KwaZulu-Natala; Afrikaans: KwaZoeloe-Natal) is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu (“Place of the Zulu” in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng.
Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems.
Quick Facts
- Area: 94,361 km2
- Population Est: 11,513,575
- Languages:
- Zulu (77,8%)
- English (13.2%)
- Xhosa (3.4%)
- Afrikaans (1.6%)
- Capital: Pietermaritzburg
Climate
Economy
Geography
Borders
Sport
Education
Climate
KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography. Generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Durban on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 21 °C (70 °F), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23 °C (73 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (52 °F).
Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter. Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy winter snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer.
The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, supporting many sugar cane farms around Pongola.
Economy
KwaZulu-Natal has the second largest regional economy in the country after Gauteng. Durban is a rapidly growing urban area and is by most measures the busiest port in Africa. A good railway network links the city to other areas of Southern Africa. Sugar refining is Durban’s main industry. Sheep, cattle, dairy, citrus fruits, corn, sorghum, cotton, bananas, and pineapples are also raised. There is an embryonic KwaZulu-Natal wine industry.
Other industries (located mainly in and around Durban) include textile, clothing, chemicals, rubber,
fertiliser, paper, vehicle assembly and food-processing plants, tanneries, and oil refineries. There are large aluminium-smelting plants at Richards Bay, on the north coast. To the north, Newcastle is the province’s industrial powerhouse, with Mittal Steel South Africa (previously ISPAT/ISCOR) and the Karbochem synthetic rubber plant dominating the economy.
In 2002, Newcastle became the largest producer of chrome chemicals in Africa with the completion of a chrome-chemical plant, a joint-venture project between Karbochem and German manufacturing giant Bayer. Other large operations include a diamond-cutting works, various heavy engineering concerns, the Natal Portland Cement (NPC) slagment cement factory, and the Newcastle Cogeneration Plant (old Ingagane Power Station). This was recommissioned as Africa’s first gas-fired power station by Independent Power Southern Africa (IPSA), and it supplies the Karbochem Plant with electricity. The textile industry is a major employer in the Newcastle area, with over 100 factories belonging to ethnic Taiwanese and Chinese industrialists.
Maize, livestock and dairy farmers operate on the outskirts of the city. Coal is also mined in the Newcastle area. The province as a whole produces considerable amounts of coal (especially coke) and timber. Offshore mining of heavy mineral sands including minerals with a concentration of significant economic importance at several locations, such as rutile, ilmenite and zircon are threatening the marine ecology of KwaZulu-Natal’s coast, including the Tugela Banks; the fishing economy of the prawn and nurse fisheries are also threatened.
Geography
At around 92,100 km2 (35,600 sq mi) in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas and is the eastern most province in the country. The lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province, while the central Natal Midlands consists of an undulating hilly plateau rising toward the west. Two mountainous areas, the western Drakensberg Mountains and northern Lebombo Mountains form, respectively, a solid basalt wall rising over 3,000 m (9,800 ft) beside Lesotho border and low parallel ranges of ancient granite running southward from Eswatini. The area’s largest river, the Tugela, flows west to east across the center of the province.
The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines; steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest. The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland. The province contains rich areas of biodiversity of a range of flora and fauna. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory species, and are designated as Ramsar sites. South Africa signed the 1971 Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats and numerous species.
The former Eastern Cape enclave of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made other changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene (30°34′35″S 30°34′35″E) to northeast Lesotho. The province became the first to include a portion of road that is made of partial plastic, the equivalent of nearly 40,000 recycled milk cartons.
Borders
Borders
KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho:
- Maputo Province, Mozambique (far northeast)
- Lubombo District, Eswatini (northeast, east of Shiselweni)
- Shiselweni District, Eswatini (northeast, west of Lubombo)
- Mokhotlong District, Lesotho (southwest, north of Thaba-Tseka)
- Thaba-Tseka District, Lesotho (southwest, between Mokhotlong and Qacha’s Nek)
- Qacha’s Nek District, Lesotho (southwest, south of Thaba-Tseka)
- Mpumalanga (north)
- Free State (west)
- Eastern Cape (southwest)
Sport
Major sports events:
- Comrades Marathon, an annual marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
- Midmar Mile, a mile-long swimming race held annually at Midmar Dam.
- Dusi Canoe Marathon, an annual canoe marathon starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban.
- Durban July, South Africa’s premier annual horse racing event at Greyville Racecourse, Durban.
- Mr Price Pro, a premier international surfing event at Durban during winter (previously known as the “Gunston 500”).
- AmaZulu, Golden Arrows and Royal AM (Durban)
- Thanda Royal Zulu (Richards Bay)
- Maritzburg United (Pietermaritzburg)
- Super Rugby
- The Sharks
- Currie Cup
- Sharks
- SuperSport Series Dolphins (successor to the KwaZulu-Natal cricket team)
- Kwazulu Marlins
- Kingdom Stars
- Kingdom Queens
Education
Early Education
KwaZulu Natal has one of most prestigious high schools in South Africa.
- Hilton College
- Michael House
- St David’s Marist, Inanda
- University of Zululand
- Durban University of Technology (merger of ML Sultan Technikon and Technikon Natal)
- Mangosuthu University of Technology
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