TheEastern Cape (Afrikaans:Oos-Kaap[ˈuəs.kɑːp];Xhosa:eMpuma-Kapa) is one of the nineprovinces ofSouth Africa. Its capital isBhisho, and its largest city isGqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for having been home to many anti-apartheid activists, includingNelson MandelaSteve Biko andChris Hani.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after theNorthern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of theXhosa homelands orbantustans ofTranskei andCiskei, together with the eastern portion of theCape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenousXhosa people. In 1820 this area, which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom, began to be settled by Europeans who originally came fromEngland,Scotland andIreland. Eastern Cape is the only province in South Africa where the number of Black Africans declined from 86.6% to 85.7% since Apartheid ended in 1994.
The Eastern Cape province was formed in 1994, incorporating areas from the former Xhosa homelands of theTranskei andCiskei, together with what was previously part of theCape Province. This resulted in several anomalies, including the fact that the Province has four supreme courts (inMakhanda (formerly named Grahamstown),Gqeberha (formerly named Port Elizabeth),Bhisho andMthatha, and had enclaves ofKwaZulu-Natal in the province. The latter anomaly has fallen away with amendments to municipal and provincial boundaries.
The Xhosa Kingdom was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa, and had all states in the Eastern Cape as tributaries. Any group, people, or tribe that recognised the Xhosa Kingdom as Paramouncy became Xhosa, practiced Xhosa culture and used isiXhosa as their main language. Some of the tribes that fall under the category of Xhosa people include: AmaMpondo, AbaThembu, AmaMpondomise, AmaHlubi, AmaBhaca, AmaXesibe, AmaBomvana and more.[original research?]
In the late 18th century theDutch Cape Colony slowly expanded eastwards from its original centre around Cape Town. This led to the establishment in 1786 of the Dutch settlement ofGraaff-Reinet – named for theGovernor of the Cape ColonyCornelius Jacob van de Graaff (in office: 1785–1791) and for his wife Hester Cornelia van de Graaff (née Reynet). Later, during theNapoleonic Wars of 1803–1815,Britain took control of theCape Colony (1806) and encouraged British citizens to migrate there as a means to boost the British population[citation needed] in the area.
The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semiaridKaroo, except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in the Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous betweenGraaff-Reinet and Rhodes including theSneeuberge (English: Snow Mountains),Stormberge,Winterberge andDrakensberg (English: Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province isBen Macdhui at 3001 m. The east fromEast London andQueenstown towards theKwaZulu-Natal border – a region known previously asTranskei – is lush grassland on rolling hills, punctuated by deep gorges with intermittent forest.
Eastern Cape has acoast on its east which lines southward, creating shores leading to the south Indian Ocean. In the northeast, it borders the followingdistricts of Lesotho:
Climate is highly varied. The west is dry with sparse rain during winter or summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The areaTsitsikamma toGrahamstown receives more precipitation, which is also relatively evenly distributed and temperatures are mild. Further east, rainfall becomes more plentiful and humidity increases, becoming more subtropical along the coast with summer rainfall. The interior can become very cold in winter, with heavy snowfalls occasionally occurring in the mountainous regions betweenMolteno andRhodes.
Gqeberha: Jan Max: 25 °C, Min: 18 °C; Jul Max: 20 °C, Min: 9 °C
Molteno &Barkly East: Jan Max 28 °C, Min 11 °C; Jul Max: 14 °C, Min: -7 °C
Major cities and towns include the following (in the case ofplaces that have been renamed, the traditional name is listed first followed by the new official name):
As of the2022 census, the Eastern Cape had a population of 7,230,204, an increase of 10.2% from the prior census in2011. It is the fourth-most populous of South Africa's nine provinces. The median age is 27, an increase of 5 years from 2011.[5]
In the 2022 census, 85.7% of the population described themselves asBlack African, 7.6% asColoured, 5.6% asWhite and 0.5% asIndian/Asian.[5] A large majority of Black African people in the province areXhosa, with 78.8% of residents in Eastern Cape identifying as Xhosa as of 2011. Unlike most ofSouth Africa, a substantial proportion of theWhite population is ofBritish descent. Roughly half ofWhite South Africans in Eastern Cape are English-speakers of British descent while the other half are ofBoer/Afrikaner ancestry. Eastern Cape is one of only two provinces inSouth Africa where Whites of British descent outnumber Boers/Afrikaners, the other beingKwaZulu-Natal.
In the 2022 census, 81.8% of the population reported theirfirst language asXhosa, 9.6% asAfrikaans, 4.8% asEnglish, and 2.4% asSotho. The Eastern Cape is the only province in which native Xhosa-speakers form a majority of the population.[5]
As of the 2022 census, 86.1% of the population described themselves asChristians, 11.0% stated that they practicedTraditional African religions, and 0.6% described themselves asMuslim. 1.5% of the population described themselves as being atheist, agnostic, or having no religious affiliation.[5]
The Eastern Cape is the poorest province in South Africa and has the highest expanded and official unemployment rate in the country.[6][7][8] Subsistence agriculture predominates in the former homelands, resulting in widespread poverty. A multi billion Rand industrial development zone and deep water port are being developed inCoega to boost investment in export-oriented industries.[9] Overall the province only contributes 8% to the national GDP despite making 13.5% of the population. The real GDP of Eastern Cape stands at an estimated R230.3billion in 2017, making the province the fourth largest regional economy in SA ahead of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.[10]
There is much fertile land in the Eastern Cape, and agriculture remains important. The fertileLangkloof Valley in the southwest has large deciduousfruit orchards. In the Karoo there is widespread sheep farming.
The Alexandria-Makhanda area produces pineapples, chicory and dairy products, while coffee and tea are cultivated at Magwa. People in the former Transkei region are dependent on cattle, maize and sorghum-farming. An olive nursery has been developed in collaboration with theUniversity of Fort Hare to form a nucleus of olive production in the Eastern Cape.
Domestic stock farming is slowly giving way to game farming on large scale.Eco-tourism is resulting in economic benefits, and there is lower risk needed to protect wild, native game against drought, and the natural elements. Habitat loss and poaching pose the greatest problems.
The area aroundStutterheim is being cultivated extensively with timber plantations.
The basis of the province'sfishing industry issquid, some recreational and commercial fishing for line fish, the collection of marine resources, and access to line-catches ofhake.
With three import/export harbours and three airports offering direct flights to the main centres, and an excellent road and rail infrastructure,[citation needed] the province has been earmarked as a key area for growth and economic development in modern South Africa.[citation needed]
The two major industrial centres,Port Elizabeth andEast London have well-developed economies based on the automotive industry.General Motors andVolkswagen both have major assembly lines in the Port Elizabeth area, while East London is dominated by the largeDaimlerChrysler plant, now known as Mercedes-Benz South Africa.[11]
Environmental-friendly projects include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative, the Wild Coast SDI, and two industrial development zones, the East London Industrial Development Zone and the Coega IDZ near Port Elizabeth. Coega is the largest infrastructure development in post-apartheid South Africa. The construction of the deepwaterPort of Ngqura was completed and the first commercial ship anchored in October 2009.[12]
Other sectors include finance, real estate, business services, wholesale and retail trade, eco-tourism (nature reserves and game ranches) and hotels and restaurants.
The provincial legislature is elected every five years by a system ofparty-list proportional representation. The most recent provincial election was held in2024, which was won by the ANC, which has governed the province continuously since the end of Apartheid in1994. TheDemocratic Alliance (DA) is the second largest party and forms theofficial opposition. The results of the most recent provincial election in 2024 are as follows:
The Eastern Cape Department of Education has been criticised for poor primary and secondary education[13] resulting from dysfunction,[14] special interests, and issues with the South Africa teachers union,SADTU.[15][16] The province struggles with a lack of schools; a lack of teachers leading to overcrowding; a lack of textbooks; a lack of basic facilities like toilets, electricity or water; and poor transport infrastructure which regularly absents and endangers learners. The problem is particularly acute in the formerTranskei.[17]
By 2011, basic education had so deteriorated that the nationalDepartment of Basic Education intervened under section 100(1)(b) of theConstitution of South Africa, taking control of the province's educational administration.[16] The Eastern Cape has since been the worst-performing province educationally and especially in terms ofmatriculation;[17] matriculants' results averaged 51% in 2009,[18] 58.3% in 2011,[19] 64.9% in 2013,[20] 65.4% in 2014, and 56.8% in 2015.[21][22]
In the 2015/2016 financial year, the province failed to spend R 530 million of its allocated R 1.5 billion budget for education, most of it intended for infrastructure development.[23][24]
Equal Education's 2017 report, Planning to Fail, found a "systemic failure in Eastern Cape education".[25]
The province is served by big medical centres such asCecilia Makiwane Hospital which is a large, government-funded hospital near the city ofEast London that also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital.Frere Hospital is another large, provincial government-funded hospital near East London which also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital. These hospitals offer many specialty departments such as an ARV clinic for HIV/AIDS in adults and children. Both hospitals are affiliated with Lilitha Nursing College and Walter Sisulu University.
While the Eastern Cape has many hospitals and private clinics, the province has some of the worst health outcomes and service indicators in South Africa. Some of this can be attributed to staff shortages, with a report indicating that 67% of the 27 monitored facilities have insufficient staff.[26]
Rural residents in the Eastern Cape face worse health outcomes than those who reside in the larger towns or cities. This is due to a number of conditions such as lack of healthcare resources, lack of means to access healthcare resources, high unemployment, and poverty. Illiteracy is also a problem in rural communities, which further limits positive health outcomes.[27]
HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis are also ongoing issues in the region. In 2017, the Eastern Cape had a TB incidence of 839/100,000 people, which was higher than South Africa's estimated prevalence of 737/100,000.[28] Additionally, the Eastern Cape has a high overall HIV prevalence rate (25.2%) as of 2017.[29] In 2018, HIV/AIDS was the second leading underlying natural cause of death in the Eastern Cape with a 5.9% prevalence rate.[30] Since 2017, there has been an increase in the level of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which disproportionately affects poorer communities. Furthermore, obesity and undiagnosed hypertension are major concerns in rural areas.[31]
The Eastern Cape is also known for its traditional Xhosa initiation schools, which perform coming-of-age ceremonies known asulwaluko which involve circumcision. These ceremonies have been linked to numerous complications such as coma, illness and death.[32][33]
There have been numerous reports in South African newspapers investigating the poor practices which lead to the death of young men and boys during initiation rituals.[34][35][36] In one case, an 18-year-old teenager named Yongama Boya was sent to the hospital to be circumcised, as his parents believed this would be the safer option.[37] Then, he was sent to complete the rest of his initiation ritual in a traditional initiation school in the Qumbu area of the Transkei. There, the nurse refused to accept the validity of his prior circumcision at the hospital, and she circumcised him again, resulting in his death.
The landscape is extremely diverse. The western interior is largely aridKaroo, while the east is well-watered and green. The Eastern Cape offers a wide array of attractions, including 800 kilometres (500 mi) of untouched and pristine coastline along with beaches, andbig-five game viewing in amalaria-free environment.
The province is the location ofTiffindell, South Africa's onlysnow skiing resort, which is situated near the hamlet ofRhodes in the SouthernDrakensberg. It is on the slopes ofBen Macdhui, the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape 3,001 metres (9,846 ft).
TheNational Arts Festival, held annually inGrahamstown, is Africa's largest cultural event,[citation needed] offering a choice of both indigenous and imported talent. Every year for eleven days the town's population almost doubles, as over 50,000 people flock to the region for a feast of arts, crafts, music and entertainment.
Jeffreys Bay is an area with wild coastline, which is backed by sub-tropical rainforest. The waters here are noted for having good waves for surfing.
King William's Town, Alice, Queenstown, Grahamstown, Cradock and Fort Beaufort offer some of the best colonial architecture of the 19th century in the province. The two major cities lining the coast are East London and Port Elizabeth.
.svg)
