Western Cape

Western Cape ( Afrikaans: Wes -Kaap, English: Western Cape, Xhosa: Ntshona - colonial ) is a South African province in the southwest of the Republic. It borders both the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. The province was formed in 1994 from parts of the former Cape Province and is divided into six districts with 24 municipalities. The capital of Western Cape, Cape Town. For the province also includes the Prince Edward Islands.

Geography

The province is 129,462 km ² in size and thus makes about one tenth the size of South Africa. It extends from the Cape of Good Hope from about 400 km in the north and about 500 km in an easterly direction along the coasts of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. In the North Western Cape is bordered by the Northern Cape, on the east by the Eastern Cape Province.

Both topographically and climatically Western Cape is extremely diverse. The largest part of the province is characterized by hot temperate climate with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers from, similar to the climate of the Mediterranean.

The cold Benguela Current has a cooling effect on the climate at the Cape of Good Hope, so that the Western Cape is, despite its northern location for viticulture.

Political Structure

The province is divided into six districts:

• District of Cape Town
• District of Eden with the communities Bitou, George, Hessequa, Can Aland, Knysna, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn
• Cape Winelands district with communities Breede Valley, Langenberg, Drakenstein, Stellenbosch and Witzberg
• Overberg district with communities Theewaterskloof, Swellendam, over beach and Cape Agulhas
• District of West Coast with the communities Bergrivier, Cederberg, Matzikama, Saldanha Bay and Swartland
• District Central Karoo with the communities Beaufort West, Laingsburg and Prince Albert

Demography

• <1 / km ²
• 1-3 / km ²
• 3-10 / km ²
• 10-30 / km ²
• 30-100 / km ²
• 100-300 / km ²
• 300-1000 / km ²
• 1000-3000 / km ²
• > 3000 / km ²

• Afrikaans
• English
• IsiXhosa
• No dominant language

According to the census in 2011 lived 5,822,734 people in the Western Cape Province. According to the census in 2001, there were 4,524,336 people. The population density in 2001 was 34.97 inhabitants / km ², albeit with very different population density. The dominant language of the province was Afrikaans (55.3% ), followed by Xhosa ( 23.7% ), English ( 19.3 %, mainly in the area of Cape Town ) and other (< 2%).

2011, designated 48.8 % (2001: 53.9 %) of the population than the Western Cape Coloured ( Coloured ), 32.8 % (2001: 26.7 %) than black (African ), 15.7 % (2001: 18, 4 %) than whites and 1.0 % (2001: 2.0 %) than Indians or Asians.

Policy

Since the last provincial elections of 22 April 2009, the province not of the ruling party ANC, but by the Democratic Alliance (DA) under Helen Zille is ruled as prime minister. 2011 holds the DA 22 seats, the ANC 14, COPE three seats, the Independent Democrats two seats and the African Christian Democratic Party one seat Western Cape, making it the only South African province, which is politically dominated by the ANC.

Education

The province has four universities: the University of Stellenbosch, the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape in Bellville and Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town.

National Parks and Nature Reserves

National Parks

• Agulhas National Park
• Bontebok National Park
• Karoo National Park
• Table Mountain National Park
• West Coast National Park

Nature Reserves

• Anysberg Nature Reserve
• Bird Iceland Nature Reserve
• Boosmansbos Wilderness Area
• Bosch Brook Nature Reserve
• Buffelsfontein Game Nature Reserve
• Caledon Wildflower Reserve
• Cape Columbine Nature Reserve
• Cape Flats Nature Reserve
• Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve
• Cederberg Wilderness Area
• Cogman 's Kloof Mountain Reserve
• Contre Mountain Wildflower Reserve
• Darling Renosterveld Reserve
• Dassieshoek
• De Hoop Nature Reserve
• De Mond Nature Reserve
• De Vasselot Nature Reserve
• Durbanville Nature Reserve
• Featherbed Eco - Reserve
• Gamaskloof
• Gamkaberg Nature Reserve
• Garcia Nature Reserve
• Goukamma Nature Reserve
• Greyton Nature Reserve

• Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area
• Grootvadersbosch
• Heuningberg Nature Reserve
• Hoedjieskop Nature Reserve
• Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve
• Jonkershoek Nature Reserve & Assegaaibosch
• Kammanassie Nature Reserve
• Keubooms River Nature Reserve
• Kleinmond Nature Reserve
• Koeberg Nature Reserve
• Kogelberg Nature Reserve
• Limietberg Nature Reserve
• Marloth Nature Reserve
• Matjiesrivier
• Matroosberg Nature Reserve
• Montagu Mountain Reserve
• MontEco Nature Reserve
• Mount Rochelle Nature Reserve

• Neulfonteinkop Nature Reserve
• Outeniqua Nature Reserve
• Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve
• Pledge Nature Reserve
• Reins Nature Reserve
• Rietvlei Nature Reserve
• Riverlands Nature Reserve
• Robbberg Nature Reserve
• Rocherpan Nature Reserve
• Rondevlei Nature Reserve
• Saldanha Nature Reserve
• Salmonsdam Nature Reserve
• Schaapeiland Nature Reserve
• Silvermine Nature Reserve
• Swartberg Nature Reserve
• Tienie Versfeld Reserve
• Towerkop Nature Reserve
• Tygerberg Nature Reserve
• Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve
• Walker Bay Nature Reserve
• Warmwaterberg Nature Reserve
• Wayland's Wildflower Reserve
• Zuurbrak Nature Reserve

Others

License Plate of the Western Cape Province in the acronym WP (Western Cape Province )