# Xhariep District Municipality

The Xhariep District Municipality (Sotho: Masepala wa Setereke wa Xhariep; Afrikaans: Xhariep-distriksmunisipaliteit; Xhosa: uMasipala weSithili sase Xhariep) is one of the 5 districts of the Free State province of South Africa. The municipality is the largest in the Free State geographically and is known for its vast land. It is home to the largest dam in the county, the Gariep Dam, and has two mines, situated in Jagersfontein and Koffiefontein. The natural resources and the geographical position of the municipality make it a site with good potential for investment and development. The seat is Trompsburg. As of 2011, the largest language group is Sotho who make up 45.3% of the total population of 146,259. 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 to the east
* Joe Gqabi District in Eastern Cape to the south (DC14)
* Pixley ka Seme in Northern Cape to the west (DC7)
* Frances Baard in Northern Cape to the north-west (DC9)

### Local municipalities

The district contains the following local municipalities:
| Local municipality | Population | % | Dominant language |
| Kopanong | 49 171 | 33.6% | Sotho, Afrikaans |
| Letsemeng | 38 628 | 26.4% | Afrikaans |
| Mohokare | 34 146 | 23.4% | Sotho |
| Naledi | 24 314 | 16.6% | Sotho |

## Demographics

The following statistics are from the 2011 census.
| Language | Population | % |
| Sotho | 64 536 | 45.32% |
| Afrikaans | 44 942 | 31.56% |
| Xhosa | 22 518 | 15.81% |
| Tswana | 5 000 | 3.51% |
| English | 2 282 | 1.60% |
| Sign language | 1 083 | 0.76% |
| Zulu, Ndebele, Swati | 874 | 0.60% |
| Other | 691 | 0.49% |
| Northern Sotho | 260 | 0.18% |

### Gender

| Gender | Population | % |
| Female | 74 600 | 51.01% |
| Male | 71 658 | 48.99% |

### Ethnic groups

| Ethnic group | Population | % |
| Black African | 114 806 | 78.49% |
| Coloured | 19 239 | 13.15% |
| White | 11 143 | 7.62% |
| Indian/Asian | 553 | 0.38% |

### Age

| Age | Population | % |
| 000 - 004 | 13 216 | 9.77% |
| 005 - 009 | 14 640 | 10.82% |
| 010 - 014 | 15 613 | 11.54% |
| 015 - 019 | 14 962 | 11.06% |
| 020 - 024 | 11 708 | 8.66% |
| 025 - 029 | 10 584 | 7.83% |
| 030 - 034 | 10 002 | 7.40% |
| 035 - 039 | 8 952 | 6.62% |
| 040 - 044 | 7 742 | 5.72% |
| 045 - 049 | 6 487 | 4.80% |
| 050 - 054 | 5 534 | 4.09% |
| 055 - 059 | 4 175 | 3.09% |
| 060 - 064 | 3 784 | 2.80% |
| 065 - 069 | 3 007 | 2.22% |
| 070 - 074 | 1 898 | 1.40% |
| 075 - 079 | 1 290 | 0.95% |
| 080 - 084 | 970 | 0.72% |
| 085 - 089 | 444 | 0.33% |
| 090 - 094 | 157 | 0.12% |
| 095 - 099 | 62 | 0.05% |
| 100 plus | 26 | 0.02% |

## Politics
### Election results

Election results for Xhariep in the South African general election, 2004.
* Population 18 and over: 82 604 [61.07% of total population]
* Total votes: 43 082 [31.85% of total population]
* Voting % estimate: 52.15% votes as a % of population 18 and over
| Party | Votes | % |
| African National Congress | 34 697 | 80.54% |
| Democratic Alliance | 4 368 | 10.14% |
| Freedom Front Plus | 1 021 | 2.37% |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 749 | 1.74% |
| Pan African Congress | 718 | 1.67% |
| New National Party | 439 | 1.02% |
| Independent Democrats | 321 | 0.75% |
| United Democratic Movement | 183 | 0.42% |
| Inkhata Freedom Party | 94 | 0.22% |
| United Christian Democratic Party | 81 | 0.19% |
| Azanian People's Organisation | 80 | 0.19% |
| UF | 78 | 0.18% |
| NA | 66 | 0.15% |
| SOPA | 50 | 0.12% |
| EMSA | 31 | 0.07% |
| CDP | 28 | 0.06% |
| TOP | 27 | 0.06% |
| PJC | 27 | 0.06% |
| NLP | 11 | 0.03% |
| Minority Front | 7 | 0.02% |
| KISS | 6 | 0.01% |
| Total | 43 082 | 100.00% |