Waterberg District Municipality
Encyclopedia
Waterberg is one of the 5 districts
Districts of South Africa
South Africa is divided into 52 districts . The 12th amendment to the Constitution 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...

 of Limpopo
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...

 province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. The seat of Waterberg is Modimolle
Modimolle
Modimolle is a town located near the southern edge of the Waterberg Massif in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is a medium sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming as well as wildlife and tourism...

 (formerley known as Nylstroom). The majority of its 614 139 people speak Northern Sotho
Northern Sotho language
Northern Sotho , also inaccurately known by the name of a major dialect, Pedi or sePedi, is one of the official languages of South Africa, and is spoken by 4,208,980 people — in the South African provinces of Gauteng,...

 (2001 Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

). The district code is DC36.

Geography

The municipality contains much of the Waterberg Biosphere
Waterberg Biosphere
The Waterberg Biosphere is a massif of approximately 15,000 square kilometers in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. Waterberg is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of...

, a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 designated Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...

. The Waterberg Biosphere is a massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...

 of approximately 15,000 square kilometers. Waterberg is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve
Biosphere reserve
The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...

 by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte
Butte
A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landform tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill...

 landform
Landform
A landform or physical feature in the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography...

. The ecosystem can be characterised as a dry deciduous forest or Bushveld
Bushveld
The Bushveld is a sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa that encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of the North West Province of South Africa, the Central and North-East Districts of Botswana and the Matabeleland South and part of th Matabeleland North provinces of...

. Within the Waterberg there are archaeological finds dating to the Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...

, and nearby are early evolutionary finds related to the origin of human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

s.

The following sets forth neighboring municipalities and principal municalities within the Waterberg District Municipality:

Neighbours

Waterberg is surrounded (clockwise) by:
  • Vhembe
    Vhembe District Municipality
    Vhembe is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the northernmost district of the country and shares its northern border with Beitbridge district in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The seat of Vhembe is Thohoyandou. The majority of its 1 199 856 people speak Venda...

     (DC34) to the north-east
  • Capricorn
    Capricorn District Municipality
    Capricorn is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The district is named after the Tropic of Capricorn which runs through it. The seat of Capricorn is Polokwane. The majority of its 1 154 673 people speak Northern Sotho...

     (DC35) to the east
  • Sekhukhune
    Sekhukhune District Municipality
    Sekhukhune is one of the 6 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of Sekhukhune is Groblersdal. The majority of its 967 126 people speak Northern Sotho...

     (CBDC3) to the south-east
  • Nkangala
    Nkangala District Municipality
    Nkangala is one of the 3 districts of Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The seat of Nkangala is Middelburg. The Nkangala District Municipality consists of 160 towns and villages. The most spoken language of its 1 020 592 people is IsiNdebele...

     (DC31) to the south-east
  • Metsweding
    Metsweding District Municipality
    Metsweding District Municipality was, from 2000 till 18 May 2011, a district municipality in Gauteng province, South Africa. Metsweding, and its component local municipalities, was disestablished and absorbed into the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality on the date of the 2011 municipal election.The...

     (CBDC2) to the south
  • Bojanala Platinum
    Bojanala Platinum District Municipality
    Bojanala Platinum is one of the 4 districts of North West province of South Africa. The seat of Bojanala Platinum is Rustenburg. The majority of its 1 185 325 people speak Setswana...

     (DC37) to the south
  • Ngaka Modiri Molema (DC38) to the south-west
  • the republic of Botswana
    Botswana
    Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

     to the west

Local municipalities

The district contains the following local municipalities
Local municipality (South Africa)
In South Africa, a local municipality or Category B municipality is a type of municipality that serves as the third, and most local, tier of local government...

:
Local municipality Population %
Mogalakwena
Mogalakwena Local Municipality
Mogalakwena Local Municipality is located in the Waterberg District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa. The seat of Mogalakwena Local Municipality is Mokopane.- External links :*...

 
298 433 48.59%
Lephalale
Lephalale Local Municipality
Lephalale Local Municipality is located in the Waterberg District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa. The seat of Lephalale Local Municipality is Lephalale.- Politics :...

 
96 096 15.65%
Modimolle
Modimolle Local Municipality
Modimolle Local Municipality is located in the Waterberg District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa. The seat of Modimolle Local Municipality is Modimolle.- External links :*...

 
72 802 11.85%
Thabazimbi
Thabazimbi Local Municipality
Thabazimbi Local Municipality is an administrative area in the Waterberg District of Limpopo in South Africa. The seat of Thabazimbi Local Municipality is Thabazimbi....

 
63 912 10.41%
Bela-Bela
Bela-Bela Local Municipality
Bela-Bela Local Municipality is located in the Waterberg District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa. The seat of Bela-Bela Local Municipality is Bela-Bela....

 
52 128 8.49%
Mookgopong
Mookgopong Local Municipality
Mookgophong Local Municipality is located in the Waterberg District Municipality of Limpopo province, South Africa. The seat of Mookgophong Local Municipality is Mookgophong.The Municiplity is named after the type of tree found in the area, Mokgopa ....

 
30 753 5.01%

Temporary go to: Warmbaths for Bela-Bela, Ellisras for Lephalale, Nylstroom for Modimolle, Naboomspruit
Naboomspruit
Mookgophong, also known by its former name, Naboomspruit, is a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It was established in 1910 when tin was discovered here...

 for Mookgopong, and

Demographics

The following statistics are from the 2001 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

.
Language Population %
Northern Sotho
Northern Sotho language
Northern Sotho , also inaccurately known by the name of a major dialect, Pedi or sePedi, is one of the official languages of South Africa, and is spoken by 4,208,980 people — in the South African provinces of Gauteng,...

 
357 100 58.15%
Tswana
Tswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...

 
75 741 12.33%
Tsonga
Tsonga language
The Tsonga or Xitsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan.- Classification :Tsonga belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo languages...

 
57 511 9.36%
Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 
52 379 8.53%
Ndebele
Southern Ndebele language
The Southern Ndebele language is an African language belonging to the Nguni group of Bantu languages, and spoken by the amaNdebele . There are two dialects of Southern Ndebele in South Africa:* the Northern Transvaal Ndebele or Nrebele...

 
29 724 4.84%
Sotho  11 752 1.91%
Xhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...

 
10 074 1.64%
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 
5 843 0.95%
Other  4 801 0.78%
Venda
Venda language
Venda, also known as or , is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo Province, but about 10% of speakers live in Zimbabwe. The Venda language is related to Kalanga which is spoken in Botswana...

 
4 446 0.72%
Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...

 
2 968 0.48%
Swati
Swati language
The Swazi or Swati language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Swaziland and South Africa by the Swazi people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 3 million. The language is taught in Swaziland and some South African schools in Mpumalanga and KaNgwane areas...

 
1 785 0.29%

Gender

Gender Population %
Female 319 202 51.98%
Male 294 937 48.02%

Ethnic group

Ethnic group Population %
Black African 557 896 90.84%
White 53 150 8.65%
Coloured 1 683 0.27%
Indian/Asian 1 410 0.23%

Age

Age Population %
000 - 004 66 353 10.80%
005 - 009 73 363 11.95%
010 - 014 74 634 12.15%
015 - 019 71 809 11.69%
020 - 024 54 886 8.94%
025 - 029 50 047 8.15%
030 - 034 41 052 6.68%
035 - 039 38 574 6.28%
040 - 044 32 041 5.22%
045 - 049 26 397 4.30%
050 - 054 20 278 3.30%
055 - 059 14 944 2.43%
060 - 064 15 509 2.53%
065 - 069 11 318 1.84%
070 - 074 10 039 1.63%
075 - 079 5 460 0.89%
080 - 084 4 550 0.74%
085 - 089 1 727 0.28%
090 - 094 725 0.12%
095 - 099 322 0.05%
100 plus 111 0.02%

Election results

Election results for Waterberg in the South African general election, 2004
South African general election, 2004
Legislative elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 April 2004. The African National Congress of President Thabo Mbeki, which came to power after the end of the apartheid system in 1994, was re-elected with an increased majority....

.
  • Population 18 and over: 355 225 [57.84% of total population]
  • Total votes: 196 790 [32.04% of total population]
  • Voting % estimate: 55.40% votes as a % of population 18 and over
    Party Votes %
    African National Congress
    African National Congress
    The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...

     
    166 373 84.54%
    Democratic Alliance  14 654 7.45%
    Freedom Front Plus  3 965 2.01%
    United Democratic Movement  3 405 1.73%
    African Christian Democratic Party  1 932 0.98%
    Pan African Congress  1 679 0.85%
    New National Party  952 0.48%
    Azanian People's Organisation  928 0.47%
    United Christian Democratic Party  573 0.29%
    Independent Democrats  567 0.29%
    Inkhata Freedom Party
    Inkatha Freedom Party
    The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...

     
    460 0.23%
    NA  407 0.21%
    SOPA  165 0.08%
    EMSA  140 0.07%
    CDP  127 0.06%
    PJC  121 0.06%
    UF  111 0.06%
    TOP  95 0.05%
    NLP  55 0.03%
    Minority Front  43 0.02%
    KISS 38 0.02%
    Total 196 790 100.00%

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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