The nine provinces of South Africa are divided into 52 districts , which are either metropolitan or district municipalities . They are the second level of administrative division, below the provinces and (in the case of district municipalities) above the local municipalities .
As a consequence of the 12th amendment of the Constitution in December 2005, which altered provincial boundaries, the number of districts was reduced from 53. Another effect of the amendment is that each district is now completely contained within a single 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.
Map
key
Name
Code
Province
Seat
Area
(km²)
Population
(2011) [1]
Pop. density
(per km²)
7001440000000000000♠ 44
Alfred Nzo District Municipality
DC44 ! DC44
Eastern Cape
Mount Ayliff
6,859
801,344
116.8
7001250000000000000♠ 25
Amajuba District Municipality
DC25 ! DC25
KwaZulu-Natal
Newcastle
6,911
499,839
72.3
7001120000000000000♠ 12
Amathole District Municipality
DC12 ! DC12
Eastern Cape
East London
21,043
892,637
42.4
7001370000000000000♠ 37
Bojanala Platinum District Municipality
DC37 ! DC37
North West
Rustenburg
18,333
1,507,505
82.2
B
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
BUF ! BUF
Eastern Cape
East London
2,536
755,200
297.8
7001100000000000000♠ 10
Cacadu District Municipality
DC10 ! DC10
Eastern Cape
Port Elizabeth
58,194
450,584
7.7
7000200000000000000♠ 2
Cape Winelands District Municipality
DC02 ! DC2
Western Cape
Worcester
22,309
787,490
35.3
7001350000000000000♠ 35
Capricorn District Municipality
DC35 ! DC35
Limpopo
Polokwane
16,988
1,261,463
74.3
7000500000000000000♠ 5
Central Karoo District Municipality
DC05 ! DC5
Western Cape
Beaufort West
38,854
71,011
1.8
7001130000000000000♠ 13
Chris Hani District Municipality
DC13 ! DC13
Eastern Cape
Queenstown
36,695
795,461
21.7
C
City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality
CPT ! CPT
Western Cape
Cape Town
2,460
3,740,026
1,520.3
J
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
JHB ! JHB
Gauteng
Johannesburg
1,645
4,434,827
2,695.9
T
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
TSH ! TSH
Gauteng
Pretoria
6,345
2,921,488
460.4
7001400000000000000♠ 40
Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality
DC40 ! DC40
North West
Klerksdorp
14,642
695,933
47.5
7001390000000000000♠ 39
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality
DC39 ! DC39
North West
Vryburg
44,017
463,815
10.5
7000400000000000000♠ 4
Eden District Municipality
DC04 ! DC4
Western Cape
George
23,331
574,265
24.6
7001320000000000000♠ 32
Ehlanzeni District Municipality
DC32 ! DC32
Mpumalanga
Nelspruit
27,896
1,688,615
60.5
Ek
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
EKU ! EKU
Gauteng
Germiston
1,924
3,178,470
1,652.0
Et
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
ETH ! ETH
KwaZulu-Natal
Durban
2,292
3,442,361
1,501.9
7001200000000000000♠ 20
Fezile Dabi District Municipality
DC20 ! DC20
Free State
Sasolburg
21,301
488,036
22.9
7000900000000000000♠ 9
Frances Baard District Municipality
DC09 ! DC9
Northern Cape
Kimberley
13,518
382,086
28.3
7001300000000000000♠ 30
Gert Sibande District Municipality
DC30 ! DC30
Mpumalanga
Ermelo
31,841
1,043,194
32.8
7001290000000000000♠ 29
iLembe District Municipality
DC29 ! DC29
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaDukuza
3,269
606,809
185.6
7001140000000000000♠ 14
Joe Gqabi District Municipality
DC14 ! DC14
Eastern Cape
Barkly East
25,663
349,768
13.6
7001450000000000000♠ 45
John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality
DC45 ! DC45
Northern Cape
Kuruman
27,283
224,799
8.2
7001180000000000000♠ 18
Lejweleputswa District Municipality
DC18 ! DC18
Free State
Welkom
31,930
627,626
19.7
M
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
MAN ! MAN
Free State
Bloemfontein
6,284
747,431
118.9
7001330000000000000♠ 33
Mopani District Municipality
DC33 ! DC33
Limpopo
Giyani
24,489
1,092,507
44.6
7000600000000000000♠ 6
Namakwa District Municipality
DC06 ! DC6
Northern Cape
Springbok
126,836
115,842
0.9
N
Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
NMA ! NMA
Eastern Cape
Port Elizabeth
1,959
1,152,115
588.1
7001380000000000000♠ 38
Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality
DC38 ! DC38
North West
Mafikeng
27,889
842,699
30.2
7001310000000000000♠ 31
Nkangala District Municipality
DC31 ! DC31
Mpumalanga
Middelburg
16,758
1,308,129
78.1
7001150000000000000♠ 15
OR Tambo District Municipality
DC15 ! DC15
Eastern Cape
Mthatha
15,968
1,364,943
85.5
7000300000000000000♠ 3
Overberg District Municipality
DC03 ! DC3
Western Cape
Bredasdorp
11,405
258,176
22.6
7000700000000000000♠ 7
Pixley ka Seme District Municipality
DC07 ! DC7
Northern Cape
De Aar
102,727
186,351
1.8
7001420000000000000♠ 42
Sedibeng District Municipality
DC42 ! DC42
Gauteng
Vereeniging
4,177
916,484
219.4
7001470000000000000♠ 47
Sekhukhune District Municipality
DC47 ! DC47
Limpopo
Groblersdal
13,426
1,076,840
80.2
7001430000000000000♠ 43
Sisonke District Municipality
DC43 ! DC43
KwaZulu-Natal
Ixopo
11,127
461,419
41.5
7000800000000000000♠ 8
Siyanda District Municipality
DC08 ! DC8
Northern Cape
Upington
102,524
236,783
2.3
7001190000000000000♠ 19
Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality
DC19 ! DC19
Free State
Phuthaditjhaba
32,637
736,238
22.6
7001210000000000000♠ 21
Ugu District Municipality
DC21 ! DC21
KwaZulu-Natal
Port Shepstone
5,047
722,484
143.2
7001220000000000000♠ 22
uMgungundlovu District Municipality
DC22 ! DC22
KwaZulu-Natal
Pietermaritzburg
8,934
1,017,763
113.9
7001270000000000000♠ 27
uMkhanyakude District Municipality
DC27 ! DC27
KwaZulu-Natal
Mkuze
12,821
625,846
48.8
7001240000000000000♠ 24
uMzinyathi District Municipality
DC24 ! DC24
KwaZulu-Natal
Dundee
8,589
510,838
59.5
7001230000000000000♠ 23
uThukela District Municipality
DC23 ! DC23
KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith
11,326
668,848
59.1
7001280000000000000♠ 28
uThungulu District Municipality
DC28 ! DC28
KwaZulu-Natal
Richards Bay
8,213
907,519
110.5
7001340000000000000♠ 34
Vhembe District Municipality
DC34 ! DC34
Limpopo
Thohoyandou
21,349
1,294,722
60.6
7001360000000000000♠ 36
Waterberg District Municipality
DC36 ! DC36
Limpopo
Modimolle
49,504
679,336
13.7
7000100000000000000♠ 1
West Coast District Municipality
DC01 ! DC1
Western Cape
Moorreesburg
31,104
391,766
12.6
7001480000000000000♠ 48
West Rand District Municipality
DC48 ! DC48
Gauteng
Randfontein
4,087
820,995
200.9
7001160000000000000♠ 16
Xhariep District Municipality
DC16 ! DC16
Free State
Trompsburg
37,674
146,259
3.9
7001260000000000000♠ 26
Zululand District Municipality
DC26 ! DC26
KwaZulu-Natal
Ulundi
14,799
803,575
54.3
Boundary alignment
Several projects are underway to align various services with the district boundaries.[2] 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.[3]
See also
References
Sources