Districts of South Africa

South Africa

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Africa

Constitution Bill of Rights Government Executive President Jacob Zuma Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe Cabinet Shadow Cabinet Legislative Parliament National Council of Provinces Chairperson M. J. Mahlangu National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu Leader of the Opposition Helen Zille (national) Lindiwe Mazibuko (parliament) Judiciary Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng Pres. of Supreme Court of Appeal Lex Mpati Courts Constitutional Court Supreme Court of Appeal High Courts Magistrates' Courts Elections General: 1910 1915 1920 1921 1924 1929 1933 1938 1943 1948 1953 1958 1961 1966 1970 1974 1977 1981 1984 1987 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Municipal: 2000 2006 2011 2016 Referendums: 1960 1983 1992 Administrative divisions Provinces Districts (MMs, DMs) Municipalities (list) Other Political parties Foreign relations Taxation

Other countries · Atlas Politics portal view · talk · edit

South Africa is divided into 52 districts (Metropolitan and District municipalities). The 12th amendment to the Constitution (December 2005) 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 the continental republic. South Africa's districts are analogous to counties in Great Britain and the United States.

Types of district

There are two types of municipality at the district level. Most of the country is covered by the 44 district municipalities, which are divided into local municipalities and share responsibilities with them. The eight largest urban agglomerations are governed by metropolitan municipalities, which act as both local and district municipalities.

List

The following map depicts the provinces and districts of South Africa. The district municipalities are labelled with numbers that correspond to their district code, while the metropolitan municipalities are labelled with letters that correspond to their names. Further details of the districts are listed in the table that follows the image.

Name	Code	Province	Seat	Area (km²)	Population (2007)	Pop. density (per km²)
Alfred Nzo District Municipality	44 !DC44	Eastern Cape	Mount Ayliff	6,859	479,390	69.9
Amajuba District Municipality	25 !DC25	KwaZulu-Natal	Newcastle	6,911	442,266	64.0
Amathole District Municipality	12 !DC12	Eastern Cape	East London	21,043	940,441	44.7
Bojanala Platinum District Municipality	37 !DC37	North West	Rustenburg	18,333	1,268,618	69.2
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality	BUF	Eastern Cape	East London	2,536	724,312	285.6
Cacadu District Municipality	10 !DC10	Eastern Cape	Port Elizabeth	58,194	363,496	6.2
Cape Winelands District Municipality	02 !DC2	Western Cape	Worcester	22,309	712,413	31.9
Capricorn District Municipality	35 !DC35	Limpopo	Polokwane	16,988	1,243,167	73.2
Central Karoo District Municipality	05 !DC5	Western Cape	Beaufort West	38,854	56,230	1.4
Chris Hani District Municipality	13 !DC13	Eastern Cape	Queenstown	36,695	798,597	21.8
City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality	CPT	Western Cape	Cape Town	2,460	3,497,097	1,421.6
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality	JHB	Gauteng	Johannesburg	1,645	3,888,180	2,363.6
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality	TSH	Gauteng	Pretoria	6,345	2,499,447	393.9
Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality	40 !DC40	North West	Klerksdorp	14,642	634,127	43.3
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality	39 !DC39	North West	Vryburg	44,017	354,554	8.1
Eden District Municipality	04 !DC4	Western Cape	George	23,331	513,307	22.0
Ehlanzeni District Municipality	32 !DC32	Mpumalanga	Nelspruit	27,896	1,526,236	54.7
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality	EKU	Gauteng	Germiston	1,924	2,724,229	1,415.9
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality	ETH	KwaZulu-Natal	Durban	2,292	3,468,086	1,513.1
Fezile Dabi District Municipality	20 !DC20	Free State	Sasolburg	21,301	474,089	22.3
Frances Baard District Municipality	09 !DC9	Northern Cape	Kimberley	13,518	353,200	26.1
Gert Sibande District Municipality	30 !DC30	Mpumalanga	Secunda	31,841	890,699	28.0
iLembe District Municipality	29 !DC29	KwaZulu-Natal	KwaDukuza	3,269	528,198	161.6
John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality	45 !DC45	Northern Cape	Kuruman	27,283	173,454	6.4
Lejweleputswa District Municipality	18 !DC18	Free State	Welkom	31,930	639,651	20.0
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality	MAN	Free State	Bloemfontein	6,284	752,906	119.8
Mopani District Municipality	33 !DC33	Limpopo	Giyani	24,489	1,068,568	43.6
Namakwa District Municipality	06 !DC6	Northern Cape	Springbok	126,836	126,494	1.0
Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality	NMA	Eastern Cape	Port Elizabeth	1,959	1,050,930	536.5
Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality	38 !DC38	North West	Mafikeng	27,889	798,783	28.6
Nkangala District Municipality	31 !DC31	Mpumalanga	Middelburg	16,758	1,226,500	73.2
OR Tambo District Municipality	15 !DC15	Eastern Cape	Mthatha	15,968	1,862,218	116.6
Overberg District Municipality	03 !DC3	Western Cape	Bredasdorp	11,405	212,787	18.7
Pixley ka Seme District Municipality	07 !DC7	Northern Cape	De Aar	102,727	166,849	1.6
Sedibeng District Municipality	42 !DC42	Gauteng	Vereeniging	4,177	800,819	191.7
Sekhukhune District Municipality	47 !DC47	Limpopo	Groblersdal	13,426	1,090,424	81.2
Sisonke District Municipality	43 !DC43	KwaZulu-Natal	Ixopo	11,127	500,082	44.9
Siyanda District Municipality	08 !DC8	Northern Cape	Upington	102,524	238,063	2.3
Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality	19 !DC19	Free State	Phuthaditjhaba	32,637	753,344	23.1
Ugu District Municipality	21 !DC21	KwaZulu-Natal	Port Shepstone	5,047	709,918	140.7
Ukhahlamba District Municipality	14 !DC14	Eastern Cape	Barkly East	25,663	308,365	12.0
uMgungundlovu District Municipality	22 !DC22	KwaZulu-Natal	Pietermaritzburg	8,934	988,837	110.7
uMkhanyakude District Municipality	27 !DC27	KwaZulu-Natal	Mkuze	12,821	614,046	47.9
uMzinyathi District Municipality	24 !DC24	KwaZulu-Natal	Dundee	8,589	495,737	57.7
uThukela District Municipality	23 !DC23	KwaZulu-Natal	Ladysmith	11,326	714,908	63.1
uThungulu District Municipality	28 !DC28	KwaZulu-Natal	Richards Bay	8,213	894,260	108.9
Vhembe District Municipality	34 !DC34	Limpopo	Thohoyandou	21,349	1,240,035	58.1
Waterberg District Municipality	36 !DC36	Limpopo	Modimolle	49,504	596,092	12.0
West Coast District Municipality	01 !DC1	Western Cape	Moorreesburg	31,104	286,751	9.2
West Rand District Municipality	48 !DC48	Gauteng	Randfontein	4,087	754,903	184.7
Xhariep District Municipality	16 !DC16	Free State	Trompsburg	37,674	153,069	4.1
Zululand District Municipality	26 !DC26	KwaZulu-Natal	Ulundi	14,799	902,890	61.0

Boundary alignment

Several projects are underway to align various services with the district boundaries.^[1] These include:

• Magisterial districts
• Police wards

Controversy

South Africa's official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, believes that the districts add an unnecessary fourth layer of government (between provinces and municipalities) and has called for them to be eliminated.^[2]

See also

• Municipalities of South Africa

References

1. ^ Service Delivery Boundary Alignment
2. ^ http://www.da.org.za/DA/Site/Eng/campaigns/AlternativeBudget2006.asp

Sources

• Demarcation Board