KwaZulu-Natal Province

KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN) is a province of South Africa. It extends from the borders with Swaziland and Mozambique to the Eastern Cape border in the south. Inland it is bound by the Kingdom of Lesotho, and the Free State and Gauteng provinces. Its main city is the busy port of Durban. Other settlements include Ulundi, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay and Ladysmith.

It is around 92,000 km² in area with a population of about 8.5m. It is one of the most densely populated provinces.

The majority of the people (67%) live in rural areas, and the economy is primarily agricultural. The region has an estimated 65% literacy rate. Unemployment stands at over 50%.

The province has three different geographic areas: the lowland region along the Indian Ocean coast; plains in the central section; and two mountainous areas, the Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. Average temperatures in the province range from 17° to 28° C October to April and from 11° to 25° C in the colder months. Annual rainfall is about 690 mm falling throughout the year.

History

The coast of Natal was first sighted by Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day 1497. Christmas in Portuguese is Natal, this gave the original name to the region. Later it was called KwaZulu meaning the place of the Zulu. The province is still home to the Zulu monarchy, and the majority population and language of the province are Zulu.

External Links

• KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government homepage