KwaZulu-Natal
Encyclopedia
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa
. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal
and the homeland of KwaZulu
.
In the 1830s, the northern part was the Zulu Kingdom
and southern part was briefly a Boer
republic called Natalia
(1839–1843). In 1843, the latter became the British Colony of Natal
; Zululand (KwaZulu in Zulu) remained independent until 1879.
This region is the birthplace of many notable figures in South Africa's history, such as Pixley ka Isaka Seme
(founder of the African National Congress
and the first Black lawyer in South Africa), John Langalibalele Dube
(founding president of the ANC), Mangosuthu Buthelezi
(founder of the IFP
), Chief Albert Luthuli (ANC president and the first African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
), Anton Lembede (founding president of the ANC Youth League), Jacob Zuma
(Current President of South Africa]], and Bhambatha
.
It is called the garden province and is the home of the Zulu nation. Two natural areas: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, have been declared UNESCO
World Heritage Sites. Located in the southeast of the country, the province has a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. It borders three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique
, Swaziland, and Lesotho
. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg
, and its largest city is Durban
.
At around 92,100 km2 in area, Kwazulu Natal is roughly the size of Portugal
. The province has three different geographic areas. The lowland
region along the Indian Ocean coast
is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province. The central region is the Natal Midlands
, an undulating hilly plateau
rising toward the west. Third are the two mountainous areas, the Drakensberg Mountains
in the west and the Lebombo Mountains
in the north. The Drakensberg range forms a solid wall of basalt
rising over 3000 m (9,842.5 ft) near the Lesotho border, whilst the Lebombo Mountains are ancient granite
mountains, forming low parallel ranges running southward from Swaziland. The Tugela River
flows west to east across the center of the province and is the region's largest river.
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 at 30°34′35"S 30°34′35"E to northeast Lesotho
.
on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82.4 °F) with a minimum of 21 °C (69.8 °F), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23 °C (73.4 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (51.8 °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.
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
KwaZulu-Natal is divided into eleven districts
. One of these, eThekwini
(Durban
and surrounding area), is a metropolitan municipality
and the other ten are district municipalities
. The local seat of each district municipality is given in parentheses.
in its definition of the South Coast, while Ballito, Umhlanga
and Salt Rock
are North Coast resort towns.
Beaches of world-class quality are to be found along virtually every part of South Africa's eastern seaboard, with some of the least-developed gems found in the far southern and far northern ends of the province. Marina Beach (and its adjoining resort San Lameer) was recognised in 2002 as a Blue Flag beach
.
Some visitors come for the annual late autumn or early winter phenomenon on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of the "sardine run
". Referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of sardine
s migrate from their spawning
grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northward along the Eastern Cape
coastline toward KwaZulu-Natal. They follow a route close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres; it is preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish
, shark
s, dolphins and seabird
s. Usually the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Scientists have been unable to answer many questions surrounding this exceptional seasonal event.
to the Midlands
. Their beauty has inspired literature. Alan Paton
, in the novel Cry, the Beloved Country
, wrote:
of Portugal
saw the coast of Natal on Christmas Day 1497. Natal is the Portuguese
word for Christmas which gave rise to the European name for the region. The area was occupied centuries ago by the Nguni
branch of the Bantu.
The first European settlers established a trading post called Port Natal in 1824 – these were mostly British settlers. These settlers made almost no attempt to develop the interior, whose inhabitants had been decimated
by the Zulu chief Shaka
(also spelled Chaka). The Afrikaner
Voortrekkers
entered the area via the Drakensberg
passes in 1837. These Afrikaners defeated the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River
in 1838 and thereafter established the Republic of Natal. Thus, the territory was once part of a short-lived Boer republic
between 1839 and 1843 until its annexation by Britain. Many Afrikanner inhabitants left for the interior after the annexation and were replaced by immigrants, mainly from Britain. From 1860 onward, increasing numbers of Indians were brought in by the British mainly to work in the sugar plantations on the coast. The colony acquired Zululand (the area north of the Tugela River) after the Zulu War of 1879. The lands north of the Buffalo River were added in 1902. Boer
forces entered the area during the South African War (1899 to 1902) – also known as the second Boer War
- and laid siege to Ladysmith
. They failed to build on their initial advantage and for three months the line between the opposing forces followed the course of the Tugela River
. In 1910 the colony became a province of the Union of South Africa and in 1961 of the Republic of South Africa.
When the homeland of KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal, which had existed between 1910 and 1994, was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy; the majority population and language of the province is Zulu. It is the only province in South Africa that has the name of its dominant ethnic group as part of its name.
, are symbols of the regions that were joined to create KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu and Natal, respectively. The zig-zag stripe is representative of the Drakensberg. The star represents the coastline, named Natalia by Vasco da Gama
on Christmas day, 1497, as well as the Zulu myth that the Zulu people are "people of heaven" or "star people". The strelitzia
flower on the shield is a symbol of the province's beauty. The assegai and knobkierrie behind the shield represent peace and protection. The crown base is a headring, traditionally worn by Zulu elders and representing wisdom and maturity. The crown is a round grass hut built in the Zulu style. The motto is Masisukume Sakhe, Zulu for "Let Us Stand Up and Build".
. The foundation stone of the new legislative building was laid on 21 June 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria
's Golden Jubilee
. The building was completed two years later. On 25 April 1889, the Governor of Natal, Sir Arthur Havelock
, opened the first Legislative Council session in the new building.
This was the former site of St Mary's Church, built in the 1860s. The congregation built a new church in 1884 at the corner of Burger Street and Commercial Road. The old building was demolished in 1887 to provide space for the legislative complex.
When governance was granted to Natal in 1893, the new Legislative Assembly took over the chamber used by the Legislative Council since 1889. Further extensions to the parliamentary building were made. The building was unoccupied until 1902, when it was used without being officially opened, due to the country's being engulfed in the Anglo-Boer war
. The war forced the Legislative Assembly to move the venue of its sittings, as its chamber was used as a military hospital.
The Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council buildings have both been designated national monuments. They formed a colonial Parliament of two houses: a Council of 11 nominated members and an Assembly of 37 elected members. The Natal Parliament was disbanded in 1910 when the Union of South Africa was formed, and the Assembly became the meeting place of the Natal Provincial Council. The Council was disbanded in 1986.
The Provincial Legislature consists of 80 Members.
The African National Congress
(ANC) hold power in the provincial legislature, winning the province with a convincing overall majority in South Africa's 2009 elections. Their chief opponents were the Inkatha Freedom Party
, allied with the Democratic Alliance.
Breakup of the 80-seat legislature from the 2009 elections:
. Although not holding any direct political power, the Zulu king is provided a stipend by the government. He holds considerable influence among the more traditionalist Zulu people in the province.
To date the Zulu king has six wives; traditionally, each year a ceremony is performed in which the king receives another wife. This was formerly a way of creating connections among the various peoples. The current King practices the ceremony, called the "Reed Dance", but has not chosen new wives recently. Instead, he has used the occasion to promote abstinence until marriage as a way of preserving Zulu culture and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
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 pineapple
s 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 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 minerals and precious metals including rutile, ilmenite, zircon and iron ore 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.
About 86% of the population is Black African. During apartheid, a large percentage of native blacks was forced to live in Bantu homelands (Bantustan
s), which had a subsistence economy based on cattle raising and corn growing.
Ecology tourism is increasingly important to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal. The area's rich biodiversity and efforts at conservation have been recognised. Tourists have come to see the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, declared UNESCO
World Heritage Sites. These two major parks and that of Ndumo have wetlands of international importance listed as RAMSAR
sites for conservation. Tourists pay up to $10,000 for safari
s on which they might see lions, elephants and giraffes. Others come to hike in the mountains or explore the wetlands with guides.
(shackdwellers') movement, the Diakonia Council of Churches, the Right2Know campaign, and the Unemployed People's Movement.
Without the proper nutrition, health care and medicine that is available in developed countries, large numbers of people suffer and die from AIDS-related complications. In some heavily infected areas, the epidemic has disrupted society, with fatalities high among adults in their prime, and leaving many orphans to be cared for by elderly grandparents. HIV/AIDS has retarded economic growth by destroying human capital
.
in the midlands as well as Kearsney College
and Thomas More College
in the outlying suburbs of Durban. Other private schools include:
Provinces of South Africa
South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution...
. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
and the homeland of KwaZulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
.
In the 1830s, the northern part was the Zulu Kingdom
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
and southern part was briefly a Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
republic called Natalia
Natalia Republic
The Natalia Republic was a short-lived Boer republic, established in 1839 by local Afrikaans-speaking Voortrekkers shortly after the Battle of Blood River. The republic was located on the coast of the Indian Ocean beyond the Eastern Cape, and was previously named Natalia by Portuguese sailors. The...
(1839–1843). In 1843, the latter became the British Colony of Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
; Zululand (KwaZulu in Zulu) remained independent until 1879.
This region is the birthplace of many notable figures in South Africa's history, such as Pixley ka Isaka Seme
Pixley ka Isaka Seme
Pixley ka Isaka Seme was a founder and President of the African National Congress.He was born in the Colony of Natal at the Inanda mission station of the American Zulu Mission of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions...
(founder of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
and the first Black lawyer in South Africa), John Langalibalele Dube
John Langalibalele Dube
John Langalibalele Dube was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet. He was the founding president of the South African Native National Congress which became the African National Congress in 1923...
(founding president of the ANC), Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
(founder of the IFP
IFP
IFP can stand for:* International Federation of Poker* Interwise Food Portal* Independent Feature Project* "The Illinois Functional Programming Interpreter", A.D. Robison, Proc 1987 SIGPLAN Conf on Interpreters and Interpretive Techniques , pp...
), Chief Albert Luthuli (ANC president and the first African to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
), Anton Lembede (founding president of the ANC Youth League), Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
(Current President of South Africa]], and Bhambatha
Bhambatha
For other articles named Bhambatha, see Bhambatha .Bambata or Bambatha kaMancinza , also known as Mbata Bhambatha, was a Zulu chief of the amaZondi clan in the Colony of Natal and son of Mancinza...
.
It is called the garden province and is the home of the Zulu nation. Two natural areas: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, have been declared UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Sites. Located in the southeast of the country, the province has a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. It borders three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Swaziland, and Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
, and its largest city is Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
.
Geography
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The province has three different geographic areas. The lowland
Lowland
In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or...
region along the Indian Ocean coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
is extremely narrow in the south, widening in the northern part of the province. The central region is the Natal Midlands
KwaZulu-Natal Midlands
The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is an inland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that lies outside of Pietermaritzburg but before the Drakensberg mountain range....
, an undulating hilly plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
rising toward the west. Third are the two mountainous areas, the Drakensberg Mountains
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
in the west and the Lebombo Mountains
Lebombo Mountains
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, are an 800km long, narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa stretching from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in the north. Part of the mountains are found in South Africa,...
in the north. The Drakensberg range forms a solid wall of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
rising over 3000 m (9,842.5 ft) near the Lesotho border, whilst the Lebombo Mountains are ancient granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
mountains, forming low parallel ranges running southward from Swaziland. The Tugela River
Tugela River
The Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The river originates in the Drakensberg Mountains, Mont-aux-Sources, and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls...
flows west to east across the center of the province and is the region's largest river.
The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines; steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest
Knysna-Amatole montane forests
The Knysna-Amatole montane forests ecoregion, of the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Biome, is in South Africa. It covers an Afromontane area of in South Africa's Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces.-Setting:...
. The midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine
Alpine climate
Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. This climate is also referred to as mountain climate or highland climate....
grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
.
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
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Sites. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
species, and are designated as RAMSAR
Ramsar
Ramsar is a city in and the capital of Ramsar County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 31,659, in 9,421 families....
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
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
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
Constitution of South Africa
The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the country of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was...
. 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 at 30°34′35"S 30°34′35"E to northeast Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
.
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. DurbanDurban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
on the south coast has an annual rainfall of 1009 mm, with daytime maxima peaking from January to March at 28 °C (82.4 °F) with a minimum of 21 °C (69.8 °F), dropping to daytime highs from June to August of 23 °C (73.4 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (51.8 °F). Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
being similar in the summer, but much cooler in the winter. Ladysmith
Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
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.
Borders
KwaZulu-Natal borders the following areas of Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho:- Maputo Province, MozambiqueMaputo ProvinceMaputo is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo . The province has an area of 26,058 km² and a population of 1,072,086 .Matola is the capital of the province....
– far northeast - Lubombo District, Swaziland – northeast, east of Shiselweni
- Shiselweni District, SwazilandShiselweniShiselweni is a district of Swaziland, located in the southwest of the country. It has an area of 3,790 km² and a population of 217,000 , and is divided into 14 tinkhundla. Its administrative center is Nhlangano. It borders Lubombo District in the northeast and Manzini District in the northwest....
– northeast, west of Lubombo - Mokhotlong District, LesothoMokhotlong DistrictMokhotlong district is a district of Lesotho. It includes the highest terrain in the Maloti Range and the source of the Senqu River, Lesotho’s primary watershed. It has an area of 4,075 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 96,340. It is one of the poorest and most remote areas of...
– southwest, north of Thaba-Tseka - Thaba-Tseka District, LesothoThaba-Tseka DistrictThaba-Tseka is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 4,270 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 129,137. Thaba-Tseka is also the name of the district's capital or camptown, which is the only town in the district.-Geography:...
– southwest, between Mokhotlong and Qacha's Nek - Qacha's Nek District, LesothoQacha's Nek DistrictQacha's Nek is a district of Lesotho. It has an area of 2,349 km² and a population in 2006 of approximately 71,876. Qacha's Nek is the capital or camptown, and only town in the district.-Geography:...
– southwest, south of Thaba-Tseka
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
- MpumalangaMpumalangaMpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
– north - Free StateFree StateThe Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
– west - Eastern CapeEastern CapeThe Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
– southwest
Municipal structure
KwaZulu-Natal is divided into eleven districts
Districts of South Africa
South Africa is divided into 52 districts . The 12th amendment to the Constitution reduced this number from 53. Another effect of this amendment is that each district is now completely contained within a province, thus eliminating cross-border districts. The districts also cover the entire area of...
. One of these, eThekwini
Ethekwini
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality created in 2000 that includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The majority of its 3,090,126 people speak Zulu...
(Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
and surrounding area), is a metropolitan municipality
Metropolitan municipality (South Africa)
In South Africa, a metropolitan municipality or Category A municipality is a municipality which executes all the functions of local government for a city or conurbation...
and the other ten are district municipalities
District municipality (South Africa)
In South Africa, a district municipality or Category C municipality is a municipality which executes some of the functions of local government for a district. The district municipality will in turn comprise several local municipalities, with which it shares the functions of local government...
. The local seat of each district municipality is given in parentheses.
- AmajubaAmajuba District MunicipalityAmajuba is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Amajuba is Newcastle. The majority of its 468 040 people speak Zulu . The district code is DC25-Tourism:...
(NewcastleNewcastle, KwaZulu-NatalNewcastle is the third largest city and urban center in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Newcastle is located in the North West corner of the province along the Ncandu River and is moderately industrial....
) - ZululandZululand District MunicipalityZululand is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Zululand is Ulundi. The majority of its 804,456 people speak IsiZulu . The district code is DC26...
(UlundiUlundi, KwaZulu-NatalUlundi is a town in the Zululand District Municipality. At one time the capital of Zululand in South Africa and later the capital of the Bantustan of KwaZulu, Ulundi now lies in KwaZulu-Natal Province . The town now includes an airport, a five-star hotel, and some museums amongst its sights...
) - UmkhanyakudeUmkhanyakude District MunicipalityUmkhanyakude, named after the famous yellow-barked fever tree, literally meaning “seen from afar”, is the northernmost district in KwaZulu-Natal and contains many areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the St Lucia greater wetland park, Sodwana Bay and Kosi Bay. Game parks include...
(MkuzeMkuze, KwaZulu-Natal- Location :The small town of Mkuze is situated in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 350 km from the city of Durban. It is along the N2 en route to Johannesburg, Swaziland and Mozambique; between Mkuze River and Intaba Yemikhovu...
) - uThunguluUThungulu District MunicipalityUthungulu is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The seat of uThungulu is Richards Bay. The majority of its 885 944 people speak Zulu...
(Richards Bay) - UmzinyathiUmzinyathi District MunicipalityUmzinyathi is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The seat of Umzinyathi is Dundee. The majority of its 456 452 people speak IsiZulu...
(DundeeDundee, KwaZulu-NatalThe coal mining town of Dundee is situated in a valley of the Biggarsberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa . It is part of the Endumeni Local Municipality, Umzinyathi District. It is rich in coal deposits...
) - UthukelaUthukela District MunicipalityuThukela is one of the 11 districts of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The seat of uThukela is the city of Ladysmith. The majority of its 656 986 people speak IsiZulu...
(LadysmithLadysmith, KwaZulu-NatalLadysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
) - UmgungundlovuUmgungundlovu District MunicipalityUmgungundlovu is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Umgungundlovu is Pietermaritzburg. The majority of its 927 834 people speak Zulu...
(PietermaritzburgPietermaritzburgPietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
) - iLembeILembe District MunicipalityiLembe is one of the 11 district municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The seat of iLembe is KwaDukuza . The majority of its 560 409 people speak Zulu...
(kwaDukuzaKwaDukuza, KwaZulu-NatalKwaDukuza is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006 the town's official name was changed from Stanger to KwaDukuza, however Zulus in the area used Dukuza well before this date, and many Whites use Stanger today...
, formerly Stanger) - eThekwiniEthekwinieThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality created in 2000 that includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The majority of its 3,090,126 people speak Zulu...
- UguUgu District MunicipalityUgu is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Ugu is Zulu for "coast". The seat of Ugu is Port Shepstone. The majority of its 704 001 people speak IsiZulu...
(Port Shepstone) - SisonkeSisonke District MunicipalitySisonke is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The seat of Sisonke is Ixopo. The majority of its 298 392 people speak IsiZulu...
(IxopoIxopo, KwaZulu-NatalIxopo is a town situated on a tributary of the Mkhomazi River in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and forms part of an important sugar farming, and forestry area. Ixopo was surveyed in 1878 and was initially called Stuartstown...
)
Coastline
The coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs. The climate of the coastal areas is humid and subtropical, comparable to southern Florida in the United States, but not quite as hot and rainy in the summer. As one moves further north up the coast towards the border of Mozambique, the climate becomes almost purely tropical. North of Durban is locally referred to as "The North Coast", while south is "The South Coast". The Kwazulu-Natal Tourist board includes towns such as Margate, Port Shepstone, Scottburgh and Port EdwardPort Edward, KwaZulu-Natal
Port Edward is a small resort town situated on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, right on the Eastern Cape Province border.Port Edward is a tourist resort for seasonal visitors from more affluent regions of South Africa...
in its definition of the South Coast, while Ballito, Umhlanga
Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal
Umhlanga is a residential, commercial and resort town north of Durban on the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, created in 2000, which includes the greater Durban area...
and Salt Rock
Salt Rock
Salt Rock is a small town just north of Ballito and Shaka's Rock on the Dolphin Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is a favorite holiday destination for many local South Africans. It is about 40 minutes north of Durban. There are plenty of fishing spots along the coast from Salt Rock, through...
are North Coast resort towns.
Blue Flag beach
The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach or marina meets its stringent standards.The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE which is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation consisting of 65 organisations in 60 member countries in Europe,...
.
Some visitors come for the annual late autumn or early winter phenomenon on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of the "sardine run
Sardine run
The sardine run of southern Africa occurs from May through July when billions of sardines – or more specifically the Southern African pilchard Sardinops sagax – spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northward along the east coast of South Africa...
". Referred to as "the greatest shoal on earth", the sardine run occurs when millions of sardine
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
s migrate from their spawning
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
grounds south of the southern tip of Africa northward along the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
coastline toward KwaZulu-Natal. They follow a route close inshore, often resulting in many fish washing up on beaches. The huge shoal of tiny fish can stretch for many kilometres; it is preyed upon by thousands of predators, including game fish
Game fish
Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly...
, shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s, dolphins and seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s. Usually the shoals break up and the fish disappear into deeper water around Durban. Scientists have been unable to answer many questions surrounding this exceptional seasonal event.
Hilly interior
The interior of the province consists largely of rolling hills from the Valley of a Thousand HillsValley of a Thousand Hills
The Valley of a Thousand Hills is a valley between Pietermaritzburg, and Durban, South Africa. The Umgeni River meets the Msunduzi River in the valley, and the Dusi Canoe Marathon is run through the area every year.-External links:*...
to the Midlands
KwaZulu-Natal Midlands
The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is an inland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that lies outside of Pietermaritzburg but before the Drakensberg mountain range....
. Their beauty has inspired literature. Alan Paton
Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton was a South African author and anti-apartheid activist.-Family:Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province , the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal in his hometown, followed...
, in the novel Cry, the Beloved Country
Cry, The Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York City in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons and in London by Jonathan Cape; noted American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there...
, wrote:
History
Vasco da GamaVasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
saw the coast of Natal on Christmas Day 1497. Natal is the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
word for Christmas which gave rise to the European name for the region. The area was occupied centuries ago by the Nguni
Nguni people
-History:The ancient history of the Nguni people is wrapped up in their oral history. According to legend they were a people who migrated from Egypt to the Great Lakes region of sub-equatorial Central/East Africa...
branch of the Bantu.
The first European settlers established a trading post called Port Natal in 1824 – these were mostly British settlers. These settlers made almost no attempt to develop the interior, whose inhabitants had been decimated
Mfecane
Mfecane , also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous tribes in southern Africa during the period between 1815 to about 1840....
by the Zulu chief Shaka
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona , also known as Shaka Zulu , was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
(also spelled Chaka). The Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
Voortrekkers
Voortrekkers
The Voortrekkers were emigrants during the 1830s and 1840s who left the Cape Colony moving into the interior of what is now South Africa...
entered the area via the Drakensberg
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
passes in 1837. These Afrikaners defeated the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River
Battle of Blood River
The Battle of Blood River, so called due to the colour of water in the Ncome River turning red with blood, was fought between 470 Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000–15,000 Zulu attackers on the bank of the Ncome River on 16 December 1838, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal,...
in 1838 and thereafter established the Republic of Natal. Thus, the territory was once part of a short-lived Boer republic
Natalia Republic
The Natalia Republic was a short-lived Boer republic, established in 1839 by local Afrikaans-speaking Voortrekkers shortly after the Battle of Blood River. The republic was located on the coast of the Indian Ocean beyond the Eastern Cape, and was previously named Natalia by Portuguese sailors. The...
between 1839 and 1843 until its annexation by Britain. Many Afrikanner inhabitants left for the interior after the annexation and were replaced by immigrants, mainly from Britain. From 1860 onward, increasing numbers of Indians were brought in by the British mainly to work in the sugar plantations on the coast. The colony acquired Zululand (the area north of the Tugela River) after the Zulu War of 1879. The lands north of the Buffalo River were added in 1902. Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
forces entered the area during the South African War (1899 to 1902) – also known as the second Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
- and laid siege to Ladysmith
Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is north-west of Durban and south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production...
. They failed to build on their initial advantage and for three months the line between the opposing forces followed the course of the Tugela River
Tugela River
The Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The river originates in the Drakensberg Mountains, Mont-aux-Sources, and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls...
. In 1910 the colony became a province of the Union of South Africa and in 1961 of the Republic of South Africa.
When the homeland of KwaZulu, which means "Place of the Zulu" was re-incorporated into the Natal province after the end of apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal, which had existed between 1910 and 1994, was renamed KwaZulu-Natal. The province is home to the Zulu monarchy; the majority population and language of the province is Zulu. It is the only province in South Africa that has the name of its dominant ethnic group as part of its name.
Provincial coat of arms
The supporters, the lion and the wildebeestWildebeest
The wildebeest , also called the gnu is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved mammal...
, are symbols of the regions that were joined to create KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu and Natal, respectively. The zig-zag stripe is representative of the Drakensberg. The star represents the coastline, named Natalia by Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
on Christmas day, 1497, as well as the Zulu myth that the Zulu people are "people of heaven" or "star people". The strelitzia
Strelitzia
Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. The genus is named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, birthplace of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. A common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower, because of a supposed resemblance of its...
flower on the shield is a symbol of the province's beauty. The assegai and knobkierrie behind the shield represent peace and protection. The crown base is a headring, traditionally worn by Zulu elders and representing wisdom and maturity. The crown is a round grass hut built in the Zulu style. The motto is Masisukume Sakhe, Zulu for "Let Us Stand Up and Build".
Provincial government
The KwaZulu-Natal's provincial government sits in the legislative buildings in PietermaritzburgPietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
. The foundation stone of the new legislative building was laid on 21 June 1887, to commemorate Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
's Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee
A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...
. The building was completed two years later. On 25 April 1889, the Governor of Natal, Sir Arthur Havelock
Arthur Havelock
Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE was a career British colonial governor, serving as Governor of Sierra Leone from 1880, of Natal, of Madras, of Ceylon from 1890 to 1895, and of Tasmania from 1901 to 1904....
, opened the first Legislative Council session in the new building.
This was the former site of St Mary's Church, built in the 1860s. The congregation built a new church in 1884 at the corner of Burger Street and Commercial Road. The old building was demolished in 1887 to provide space for the legislative complex.
When governance was granted to Natal in 1893, the new Legislative Assembly took over the chamber used by the Legislative Council since 1889. Further extensions to the parliamentary building were made. The building was unoccupied until 1902, when it was used without being officially opened, due to the country's being engulfed in the Anglo-Boer war
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. The war forced the Legislative Assembly to move the venue of its sittings, as its chamber was used as a military hospital.
The Provincial Legislature consists of 80 Members.
Current composition of the legislature
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC) hold power in the provincial legislature, winning the province with a convincing overall majority in South Africa's 2009 elections. Their chief opponents were the Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
, allied with the Democratic Alliance.
Breakup of the 80-seat legislature from the 2009 elections:
- African National CongressAfrican National CongressThe African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC): 51 - Inkatha Freedom PartyInkatha Freedom PartyThe Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
(IFP); 18 - Democratic Alliance (DA): 7
- Minority Front (MF): 2
- African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP): 1
- Congress of the People (COPE): 1
Zulu monarch
KwaZulu-Natal is the home to the Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzuluGoodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu
Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu is the reigning king of the Zulu nation under the Traditional Leadership clause of South Africa's republican constitution....
. Although not holding any direct political power, the Zulu king is provided a stipend by the government. He holds considerable influence among the more traditionalist Zulu people in the province.
To date the Zulu king has six wives; traditionally, each year a ceremony is performed in which the king receives another wife. This was formerly a way of creating connections among the various peoples. The current King practices the ceremony, called the "Reed Dance", but has not chosen new wives recently. Instead, he has used the occasion to promote abstinence until marriage as a way of preserving Zulu culture and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Economy
DurbanDurban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
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
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
fruits, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, cotton, bananas, and pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
s 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
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
refineries. There are large aluminium-smelting plants at Richards Bay, on the north coast.
To the north, Newcastle
Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal
Newcastle is the third largest city and urban center in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Newcastle is located in the North West corner of the province along the Ncandu River and is moderately industrial....
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 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 minerals and precious metals including rutile, ilmenite, zircon and iron ore 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.
About 86% of the population is Black African. During apartheid, a large percentage of native blacks was forced to live in Bantu homelands (Bantustan
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
s), which had a subsistence economy based on cattle raising and corn growing.
Ecology tourism is increasingly important to the economy of KwaZulu-Natal. The area's rich biodiversity and efforts at conservation have been recognised. Tourists have come to see the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, declared UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Sites. These two major parks and that of Ndumo have wetlands of international importance listed as RAMSAR
Ramsar
Ramsar is a city in and the capital of Ramsar County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 31,659, in 9,421 families....
sites for conservation. Tourists pay up to $10,000 for safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
s on which they might see lions, elephants and giraffes. Others come to hike in the mountains or explore the wetlands with guides.
Prominent organisations
Prominent civil society organisations based in the province of KwaZulu-Natal include: Abahlali baseMjondoloAbahlali baseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo , also known as AbM or the red shirts is a shack-dwellers' movement in South Africa which is well known for its campaigning for public housing. The movement grew out of a road blockade organized from the Kennedy Road shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and now...
(shackdwellers') movement, the Diakonia Council of Churches, the Right2Know campaign, and the Unemployed People's Movement.
HIV prevalence
One of the most urgent crises facing the province is the unparalleled prevalence of HIV infection among its citizens. South Africa as a whole has more HIV-positive citizens than any other nation. Among South Africa's provinces, KwaZulu-Natal has the highest rate of HIV infection: 39 percent, according to UNAIDS in 2009.Without the proper nutrition, health care and medicine that is available in developed countries, large numbers of people suffer and die from AIDS-related complications. In some heavily infected areas, the epidemic has disrupted society, with fatalities high among adults in their prime, and leaving many orphans to be cared for by elderly grandparents. HIV/AIDS has retarded economic growth by destroying human capital
Human capital
Human capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
.
Education
As of the 2001 census, 22.9% of KwaZulu-Natal's population 20 years or older had received no education; only 4.8% had received some form of higher education.Private schools
KZN has several of South Africa's private schools, including Hilton College and MichaelhouseMichaelhouse
Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.- History :...
in the midlands as well as Kearsney College
Kearsney College
Kearsney College is a private boarding school for boys in Botha's Hill, a small town that lies between the provincial capital of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, the largest city of KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa.- History :...
and Thomas More College
Thomas More College (South Africa)
Thomas More College is an independent, co-educational day school located in Kloof, near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-Ethos:Thomas More College is a Christian-based school running classes from Grade 0 to Grade 12...
in the outlying suburbs of Durban. Other private schools include:
- Al Falaah CollegeAl Falaah CollegeAl Falaah College is an alternative, independent school situated in the coastal city of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.- History :In 1985 Ahmedia School opened its doors in Bellair Road, Cato Manor, Durban...
- Clifton College
- Dar-ul-loom Newcastle (Institute for Islamic Studies)
- Durban Girls' CollegeDurban Girls' CollegeDurban Girls' College is a private boarding and day school for girls located on the Berea, overlooking the city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:...
- Cemal Karacan Star Colle
- Eden College DurbanEden College DurbanEden College Durban is an independent school for boys and girls located in Glenmore, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, in the Republic of South Africa. It comprises a pre-primary school , a preparatory school , a middle school and a college...
- Epworth School
- Hilton College
- Kearsney CollegeKearsney CollegeKearsney College is a private boarding school for boys in Botha's Hill, a small town that lies between the provincial capital of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, the largest city of KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa.- History :...
- Maris Stella SchoolMaris Stella SchoolMaris Stella School is a private Roman Catholic day school for girls from four to eighteen years old , located on the Berea in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
- MichaelhouseMichaelhouseMichaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.- History :...
- Oakridge College
- St. Anne's Diocesan CollegeSt. Anne's Diocesan CollegeSt. Anne's Diocesan College is a private girls' boarding school situated in the small town of Hilton in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands of South Africa.-History:...
- St. Charles CollegeSt. Charles College (South Africa)St Charles College, founded in 1875, is a Christian, independent boys college situated in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, catering for day boys from Grade 00 to Matric, with boarders from Grade 4 upwards....
- St. Dominics Academy, Newcastle
- St. Henry's Marist Brothers' CollegeSt. Henry's Marist Brothers' CollegeSt. Henry's Marist Brothers' College is a co-educational private school school with a Catholic foundation in Glenwood, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:...
- St. John's DSGSt. John's Diocesan School for GirlsSt. John's Diocesan School for Girls is a private boarding and day school for girls in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:It was founded in 1897 by the Society of Sisters of St John the Divine and has an Anglican foundation....
- St. Mary's DSGSt. Mary's Diocesan School for Girls, KloofSt. Mary's Diocesan School for Girls is a private boarding and day school for girls situated in the suburb of Kloof, near Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:...
- Thomas More CollegeThomas More College (South Africa)Thomas More College is an independent, co-educational day school located in Kloof, near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-Ethos:Thomas More College is a Christian-based school running classes from Grade 0 to Grade 12...
- The Wykeham CollegiateThe Wykeham CollegiateThe Wykeham Collegiate is a private girls' boarding school situated in Clarendon, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The name is a combination of the two schools from which it was amalgamated. The first, Wykeham School, was founded in 1905 by Miss Mary Moore and the second, The Girls’...
- Star collegeStar collegeStar College of Harbin Normal University is a university located in Harbin, Heilongjiang, P.R. China.Star College is situated in Jiangbei, north of the city centre. It developed from a small language college but now has expanded to close to 10,000 students. It offers a range of majors including...
- Treverton College
- Crawford North Coast CollegeCrawford College, North CoastCrawford College, North Coast is an alternative, independent school between Ballito and Umdloti in the North Coast of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
- Our Lady of Fatima Convent School
Universities
- University of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalThe University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.-History:-University of...
, merger of the University of NatalUniversity of NatalThe University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...
and the University of Durban-WestvilleUniversity of Durban-WestvilleThe University of Durban-Westville was formerly a university situated in Westville, Durban opened 1972. It now forms part of the campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Known as UDW, it was initially established for Indians as during apartheid there were few universities that admitted non-White... - University of ZululandUniversity of ZululandThe University of Zululand has been designated to serve as the only comprehensive tertiary educational institution north of the uThukela River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its new status is in accordance with South Africa's National Plan for Higher Education aimed at eradicating inequity and...
- Durban University of TechnologyDurban University of TechnologyThe Durban University of Technology is a University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 by the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and was previously known as the Durban Institute of Technology. It has four campuses in Durban, and two in Pietermaritzburg...
, merger of ML Sultan TechnikonML Sultan TechnikonML Sultan is located in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and has now merged with Technikon Natal to form the Durban University of Technology.- History :...
and Technikon NatalTechnikon NatalTechnikon Natal is located in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and has now merged with ML Sultan Technikon to form the Durban University of Technology.- History :... - Mangosuthu University of Technology
Notable sports events
- Comrades MarathonComrades MarathonThe Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 90 km run in the Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race...
– An annual marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.. - Midmar MileMidmar MileThe Midmar Mile is a swimming race held annually in February at the Midmar Dam north of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Each year, it draws thousands of competitors, from serious international athletes and Olympic medallists to purely recreational swimmers....
– A mile-long swimming race held annually at Midmar DamMidmar DamMidmar Dam is a dam and recreation area near Pietermaritzburg , South Africa. Boating, swimming, waterskiing, picnicing, and fishing are popular pastimes at Midmar Dam. Each year, the Midmar Mile swimming race is held there, which organizers call "the world's largest open water swimming event".... - Dusi Canoe MarathonDusi Canoe MarathonThe Unlimited Dusi Canoe Marathon is a canoe race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, South Africa. It is run along the Msunduzi River, which is more commonly referred to as the Dusi river. The 2006 race attracted roughly 2000 paddlers and two to three thousand seconders, helpers and supporters...
– An annual canoe marathon, starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban. - Durban July – South Africa's premier annual horse racing event at Greyville Racecourse in Durban.
- Mr Price Pro – a premier international surfingSurfingSurfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
event at Durban during winter, previously known as the Gunston 500.
Provincial sports teams
- Football
- Premier Soccer LeaguePremier Soccer LeaguePremier Soccer League is the trading name of the National Soccer League of South Africa. The top league is the ABSA Premiership, sponsored by ABSA...
(PSL), currently featuring the following teams from the province:- AmaZuluAmaZulu F.C. (South Africa)AmaZulu is a South African football club based in the city of Durban.Formed in 1932 by Zulu migrant workers, the club was originally known as Zulu Royals.The club's nickname, Usuthu, is a Zulu war cry.-Honours:...
and Golden ArrowsGolden ArrowsGolden Arrows are a South African football club based in Durban that participates in the Premier Soccer League.-History:Originally founded in 1943 in the dusty streets of Lamontville, a township in Durban, the club played in the defunct National Professional Soccer League in the 1970s until they...
, from Durban - Thanda Royal Zulu from Richards Bay
- Maritzburg UnitedMaritzburg UnitedMaritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently competes in the Premier Soccer League.-Notable former coaches: Gordon Igesund Ernst Middendorp Trott Moloto Kosta Papic Boebie Solomons...
, from Pietermaritzburg
- AmaZulu
- Premier Soccer League
- Rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
- The Sharks, who compete in the Super Rugby competition alongside four other South African teams, five teams from Australia, and five from New Zealand
- Natal SharksNatal SharksThe Natal Sharks are a South African rugby union team that participate in the annual Currie Cup and Super Rugby tournaments. The Sharks home stadium is Kings Park. They draw most of their players from the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The Sharks are the current representative team of the Natal rugby...
(closely connected to, but not to be confused with the Super Rugby team), who compete in South Africa's domestic competition, the Currie CupCurrie CupThe Currie Cup tournament is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring , featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces...
- CricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
- DolphinsDolphins cricket teamThe Sunfoil Dolphins is the name used by the KwaZulu Natal cricket team when it plays in the South African SuperSport Series first class competition; also in the MTN Domestic Championship and Standard Bank Twenty20 limited over competitions...
, the successor to KwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu Natal cricket teamThe KwaZulu-Natal cricket team is the first-class cricket team that represents the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa...
, who compete in South Africa's domestic first-classFirst-class cricketFirst-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
competition, the SuperSport SeriesSuperSport SeriesThe SuperSport Series is the main domestic first class cricket competition in South Africa, first contested in 1889-90. From 1990-91 it became known as the Castle Cup, and from 1996-97 by its current title...
- Dolphins