Socio-Economic & Demographic Profile:
Eastern Cape

Background:

The Eastern Cape is the second largest province in South Africa. It is situated in the south-east of the country and encompasses what is traditionally known as the Eastern Province, Border and North-Eastern Cape areas, as well as the former "homelands" of Transkei and Ciskei. The western borders are formed by the towns Middelburg, Graaff-Reinet, Aberdeen and Willowmore. On the northern side, it borders the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Free State, while its southern and south-eastern borders are the Indian Ocean and the Kwazulu Natal Province respectively. For the administrative convenience Eastern Cape is divided into six district municipalities and Nelson Mandela Metropole, namely, Alfred Nzo, Amatole, Chris Hani, Ukhahlamba, O.R. Tambo and Cacadu. The district municipalities in turn comprises of many magisterial districts. Bisho is the provincial capital and centre of administration.

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The population density in the Eastern Cape is 38 people per square kilometre which is just above the national average of 38 people per square kilometre.

The largest population is situated in the O.R. Tambo and Amatole district municipalities. Nelson Mandela municipality is the highly densely populated area in the province with 515 people per square kilometre. The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa which has very low HDI, wide poverty gap and highest percentage of people living in poverty.

The Eastern Cape is dominated by African race (87.5%) followed by coloureds (7.4%). Eastern Cape has a female dominated population composition. An average of 38.8% of the population is younger than 15 years which is an indication of young dependency.

Population Pyramid:

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Area Information:

Square km – 169,981
Total Population - 6,436,748 (6,302,525 –1996)
Male - 2,975,512 (46.2%)
Female - 3,461,251 (53.8%)
Africans - 5,635,079 (87.5%)
Coloured - 478,807 (7.4%)
Indian - 18,372 (0.3%)
White - 304,506 (4.8%)
0-4 Years - 658124 (10.2%)
0-9 Years - 1,481,624 (23%)
0-14 years - 2,370,737 (38.8%)
0-19 Years – 3,181,500 (49.43%)
15-34 Years - 2,138,746 (33.2%)
35-59 Years - 1,336,125 (20.8%)
Females 60+ - 369,965
Males 65+ - 144,966
Number of disabled – 372,265 (5.8%)
Human Development Index (HDI) - 0.52
Persons in poverty = 67.4%
Poverty Gap = R 6162 million
Literacy rate = 57.4%
HIV/AID Prevalence – N/A
Prominent occupation – Elementary (27.8%)
Biggest Employer = Public/Gov Sector (26%)
Unemployment rate = 54.6%
Unemployed age 15-65 – 24.6%
Not economically active – 55%
Gross Geographic Product (GGP) = 40,497,265m
Number of households – 1,512,664
Annual Household Income 0-R6000 = 53.7%
Annual Household Income 0-R18000 = 77.9%
Annual Household Income 0-R42000 = 88.1%
Informal Houses = 11%
Traditional Houses – 38.1%
Formal Houses – 47.3%
Access to piped water – 62.4% households
No access to toilet = 30.8% households
Access to telephone serv. - 29% households
Access to electricity = 49.5% households

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