 The
North-West province has as its northern neighbour the Republic of
Botswana and is fringed by the Kalahari desert in the west and the
Gauteng area in the east. Rolling fields of maize, golden sunflowers
and vast areas of bushveld covered in thorn trees stretch as far
as the eye can see.
The North-West falls almost entirely within the Savannah biome
(Bushveld), with the exception of the southern part which is part
of the Grassland biome.
It is one of the smaller provinces with an area of 116 320 km²
and is completely landlocked. At present, it has no major airport,
but has strong functional links with Gauteng.
THE PEOPLE
 About
3,4 million people reside in the North-West on some 116 320 km²
of land. The main languages spoken here are Setswana, Afrikaans
and IsiXhosa. The human resource development levels in this province
are low, with 22,7 per cent of adults never having received any
schooling. The University of the North-West has two campuses,
one at Potchefstroom and the other at Mafikeng, the capital of
the province.
Of the 3,6 million people in the North West, 65% live in the rural
areas. The poverty rate is estimated at 57%. As far as educational
attainment and skills availability are concerned, the North West
lags behind the South African average.
 TOWNS
& ATTRACTIONS
The province is divided into five regions, namely the Central,
Bophirima (towards the west), Southern, Rustenburg and Eastern regions.
Some of the biggest tourist attractions of the province are the
Pilanesberg National Park, the Madikwe Game Reserve, Sun City and
the Lost City.
Mafikeng, the capital of the province,  boasts
a variety of striking and contemporary African buildings which incorporate
Tswana designs and colours. Other important towns in the North-West
include Klerksdorp, Orkney and Stilfontein (centres of gold and
uranium production); Potchefstroom, GaRankuwa, Rustenburg and Brits.
ECONOMY
Most economic activity is concentrated in the Southern Region (between
Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp), Rustenburg and the Eastern Region,
where more than 83,3% of GGP of the province is produced. The Klerksdorp
and Rustenburg regions together produce about 67% of the province's
GGP while covering 33% of the surface area. Forty-eight percent
of the province's population reside here.
Although the North West Province is the third-slowest contributor
to South Africa's GDP, it is the dominant province in mineral sales.
Mining contributes 35,5% to the economy and 17,8% of total employment
in the North West. It makes up 15,5% of the mining GDP in South
Africa.
Diamonds and gold are mined in the area and the largest single
platinum production area in the world is found here. Marble is also
mined here. Fluorspar is exploited at Zeerust.
Manufacturing is almost exclusively dependant on the performance
of a few sectors in which the province enjoys a competitive advantage.
These are fabricated metals (51%), the food sector (18%) and non-metallic
metals (21%).
Manufacturing contributes 12,8% of the province's GDP and 9% of
its employment opportunities. It provides 1,6% of the South African
manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP. Industrial activity
is centred around the towns of Brits, Klerksdorp, Vryburg and Rustenburg.
The Brits industries concentrate mostly on manufacturing and construction,
while those at Klerksdorp are geared towards the mining industry,
and those at Vryburg and Rustenburg towards agriculture.
Agriculture in the North West is the second most important sector,
contributing about 8,6% to provincial GDP and 16,7% to employment.
Some 5,3% of the South African GDP in agriculture and 16,96% of
total labour in agriculture are based in the North West. The province
is an important food basket in South Africa. Maize and sunflowers
are the most important crops. The North West is the biggest producer
of white maize in the country.
Some of the largest cattle herds in the world are found at Stellaland
near Vryburg, which explains why this area is often referred to
as the 'Texas of South Africa'. Marico is also cattle country. The
areas around Rustenburg and Brits are fertile mixed-crop farming
land.
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FOCUS AREAS 