Geographical Area: 92 417km/square  (7,7% of total area of South Africa)
Population: 9,92 million
Population Growth Rate: 2,2%
Density: 94,5 persons per square km
Capital City: Pietermaritzburg
Provincial Leader/Premier: Dr Zweli Mkhize
Functional Urbanisation: 77,9%
Literacy Rate: 84,3%
Labour Force: 2,42 million
Unemployment Rate: 25,2%
Life Expectancy: 62,6 years
KZN Contribution to National GDP: 16,7%
Manufacturing Contribution to GGP: 29%

 

The KwaZulu Natal Province, popularly known as KZN, is one of the ninth Provinces in South Africa. The Province is on the East Coast of South Africa, bordering Mozambique and Swaziland in the North, Lesotho in the South and neighbouring three other Provinces that is Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Free State. The Province stretches 92 100 square kilometres. It is affectionately called the “Garden of South Africa”. Tropical and subtropical regions fall within the boundaries of this beautiful province which has for years been a favourite amongst the travellers of South Africa. KZN is a subtropical region of lush and well-watered valleys, washed by the warm Indian Ocean. The province stretches from Port Edward in the south to the borders of Swaziland and Mozambique to the North. The capital of KwaZulu-Natal is Pietermaritzburg. The Province is divided into eleven districts, further subdivided into 62 Local Municipalities. 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.

KwaZulu-Natal has the second largest provincial economy in South Africa after Gauteng. With a total area of 94 361 square kilometres, KwaZulu-Natal is the country's third-smallest province, taking up 7,7 percent of South Africa's land area, and is home to the largest percentage (20,6) of the population - an estimated 9.9-million people. It contributes R206,8-billion or 16,5 percent towards the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

 

KwaZulu-Natal's manufacturing sector is the second largest in the country, after Gauteng province. It is a key sector in the provincial economy, growing at a stable and steady rate, generating 20 percent of provincial employment. Positioned as Africa’s global trade gateway, KwaZulu-Natal is poised to become an international player in the global economy as a leading trade and investment destination.

The country’s two largest and busiest ports in Africa, Durban and Richards Bay, are located on the KwaZulu-Natal coastline and these cities are also the major focal points of industrial investment. Durban has 5 000 commercial vessels passing through its port every year where 26 million tons of cargo with a value of R50 billion are handled. Richards Bay on the other hand has 57 percent of South African port cargo by volume and 14 percent by value.

KwaZulu-Natal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is made up from diverse economic sources which together comprise 13 percent of the country’s GDP while its economy is predominantly driven by its gateway status into and out of Southern Africa. This has encouraged a strong concentration of manufacturing investment, 21,5 percent of the GDP is made up of manufacturing compared with 19 percent of the GDP for South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal’s transport and communications sector at 15 percent is larger than at national level where the sector contributes 10 percent. KwaZulu-Natal has modern and well-developed logistics and financial sectors with one of the fastest growing provincial economies at an average growth rate of 4,3 percent per annum.