Xhariep is one of the 5

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Free State province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

.The District is the largest in the Free State Geographically and is known for its vast land. The District is home to the largest dam in the Country, the Gariep Dam and has two mines,situated in Jagersfontein and Koffifontein. The natural resources and the geographical position of the District make it a site with the best potential for investment and development. Xhariep has prominent towns such as Rouxville. The seat of Xhariep is

Trompsburg Trompsburg is a town in the Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa off the N1 (South Africa), N1 highway, the major road connection between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Background The town is 120 km south-we ...

. The largest

language group A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...

who make up 45.3% of the total population of 146,259 ( 2011 Census). The district code is DC16.

Geography

Neighbours

Xhariep is surrounded by: * Lejweleputswa to the north (DC18) * Mangaung Metro to the north-east * The kingdom of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

to the east * Joe Gqabi District in

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

to the south (DC14) * Pixley ka Seme in

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

to the west (DC7) *

Frances Baard Frances Goitsemang Baard (1 October 1909 – 1997) was a South African (ethnic Tswana) trade unionist, organiser for the African National Congress Women's League and a Patron of the United Democratic Front, who was commemorated in the renaming ...

to the north-west (DC9)

Local municipalities

The district contains the following local municipalities:

Demographics

The following statistics are from the 2011

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

Gender

Ethnic groups

Age

Politics

Election results

Election results for Xhariep in the

South African general election, 2004 General elections were held in South Africa on Wednesday, 14 April 2004. The African National Congress (ANC) 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: 82 604 1.07% of total population* Total votes: 43 082 1.85% of total population* Voting % estimate: 52.15% votes as a % of population 18 and over

References

External links

Xhariep DM Official Website
{{Xhariep District Municipality District municipalities of the Free State (province) Xhariep District Municipality