Provinces & Metropolitan Municipalities

Provinces

South Africa's nine provinces vary substantially in size, wealth, geography, ethnicity and population. Each has its own premier, cabinet and legislature and all are heavily dependent on central government transfers for budget revenue (about 97%). Per capita GDP ranges from R60,000 in Gauteng to R19,000 in the Eastern Cape. Gauteng (33.6%), KwaZulu-Natal (16.8%) and Western Cape (14.3%) account for nearly two-thirds of South Africa's GDP.

Metropolitan Municipalities

The constitution provides for three types of local government: metropolitan, district and local. Local authorities are responsible for delivery of basic services and, like the provinces, are heavily dependent on transfers from national budget for operational and capital expenditure. Local authorities increasingly are playing an active role in the promotion of investment and tourism within their areas.

These mega-cities are important economic centres in their own right. They manage huge capital investment programmes and some have budgets larger than Swaziland and Lesotho. Collectively, they account for about half of GDP, over 30% of the country's population and provide jobs for 45% of the workforce. Johannesburg, alone, accounts for more than 13% of the country's economic activity. Wages, salaries and per capita income are substantially higher in the metros than in the smaller towns and rural areas. Individually, the metros seek to promote investment opportunities and tourism in their

• Cape Town
• Durban (eThekweni)
• Ekurhuleni (East Rand)
• Johannesburg
• Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth)
• Tswane (Pretoria)