# Umkhanyakude District Municipality

The uMkhanyakude District Municipality (Zulu: UMasipala wesiFunda sase uMkhanyakude) is the northernmost of the 11 districts of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Its seat is Mkuze. It is a very rural district, the largest town being Mtubatuba in the south, with Hluhluwe, Mkuze, Jozini, Kwangwanase and Ingwavuma further to the north. The majority of its 573,353 inhabitants spoke isiZulu as of 2001. The district code is DC27.
The municipality is named after the yellow-barked fever tree, literally meaning "seen from afar" in isiZulu. It contains many areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the St Lucia greater wetland park, Sodwana Bay and Kosi Bay. Game parks include Hluhluwe–iMfolozi, Ndumu and Tembe Elephant Park.
It is one of the two most deprived districts in South Africa according to the District Health Barometer, in terms of unemployment rates, access to piped water and electricity, female-headed households with high numbers of children and low education levels.
UMkhanyakude, located in the northernmost part of KwaZulu-Natal, was historically known as Amathongaland, a name derived from the Amathonga (another term for the Tsonga). Before colonial and apartheid-era interventions, this region was home to Tsonga-speaking communities who lived along the coast and inland, their kingdom stretched from St Lucia Bay to the present-day city of Maputo.
The British colonial authorities reinforced the dominance of the Zulu identity in Natal and Zululand, grouping various ethnicities, including Tsonga speakers, under the broader "Zulu" identity. Today, the descendants of the Tsonga-speaking communities in uMkhanyakude largely identify as Zulu, having lost their original language and many cultural practices. However, oral history and certain traditions still point to their Tsonga heritage. Some older people in rural areas may still remember Tsonga words or cultural elements that differentiate them from their Zulu neighbours.

## Geography
### Neighbours

uMkhanyakude is surrounded by:
* The republic of Mozambique to the north
* The Indian Ocean to the east
* uThungulu to the south (DC28)
* Zululand to the west (DC26)
* the kingdom of Eswatini to the north-west

### Local municipalities

The district contains the following local municipalities:
| Local municipality | Population | % | Dominant language |
| Jozini | 184 093 | 32.11% | Zulu |
| Hlabisa | 176 899 | 30.85% | Zulu |
| Umhlabuyalingana | 140 962 | 24.59% | Zulu |
| Mtubatuba | 35 216 | 6.14% | Zulu |
| The Big 5 False Bay | 31 102 | 5.42% | Zulu |
| St Lucia Park | 5 080 | 0.89% | |

## Demographics

The following statistics are from the 2001 census.
| Language | Population | % |
| IsiZulu | 559 949 | 97.66% |
| SiSwati | 3 748 | 0.65% |
| English | 3 182 | 0.55% |
| Afrikaans | 2 304 | 0.40% |
| IsiNdebele | 1 378 | 0.24% |
| Sesotho | 903 | 0.16% |
| Sepedi | 582 | 0.10% |
| IsiXhosa | 561 | 0.10% |
| Setswana | 259 | 0.05% |
| Xitsonga | 230 | 0.04% |
| Other | 208 | 0.04% |
| Tshivenda | 48 | 0.01% |

### Gender

| Gender | Population | % |
| Female | 313 954 | 54.76% |
| Male | 259 399 | 45.24% |

### Ethnic group

| Ethnic group | Population | % |
| Black African | 568 853 | 99.22% |
| White | 3 235 | 0.56% |
| Coloured | 898 | 0.16% |
| Indian/Asian | 367 | 0.06% |

### Age

| Age | Population | % |
| 000 - 004 | 76 956 | 13.42% |
| 005 - 009 | 85 375 | 14.89% |
| 010 - 014 | 86 948 | 15.16% |
| 015 - 019 | 78 248 | 13.65% |
| 020 - 024 | 50 006 | 8.72% |
| 025 - 029 | 36 983 | 6.45% |
| 030 - 034 | 30 883 | 5.39% |
| 035 - 039 | 27 382 | 4.78% |
| 040 - 044 | 23 084 | 4.03% |
| 045 - 049 | 16 695 | 2.91% |
| 050 - 054 | 13 481 | 2.35% |
| 055 - 059 | 9 654 | 1.68% |
| 060 - 064 | 11 199 | 1.95% |
| 065 - 069 | 8 543 | 1.49% |
| 070 - 074 | 8 869 | 1.55% |
| 075 - 079 | 4 049 | 0.71% |
| 080 - 084 | 3 017 | 0.53% |
| 085 - 089 | 1 004 | 0.18% |
| 090 - 094 | 579 | 0.10% |
| 095 - 099 | 292 | 0.05% |
| 100 plus | 106 | 0.02% |

## Politics
### Election results

Election results for Umkhanyakude in the South African general election, 2004.
* Population 18 and over: 274 753 [47.92% of total population]
* Total votes: 150 543 [26.26% of total population]
* Voting % estimate: 54.79% votes as a % of population 18 and over
| Party | Votes | % |
| Inkhata Freedom Party | 104 721 | 69.56% |
| African National Congress | 36 893 | 24.51% |
| Democratic Alliance | 3 357 | 2.23% |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 1 381 | 0.92% |
| United Democratic Movement | 1 038 | 0.69% |
| Azanian People's Organisation | 423 | 0.28% |
| New National Party | 374 | 0.25% |
| Freedom Front Plus | 343 | 0.23% |
| Independent Democrats | 308 | 0.20% |
| Pan African Congress | 234 | 0.16% |
| PJC | 204 | 0.14% |
| SOPA | 177 | 0.12% |
| KISS | 176 | 0.12% |
| CDP | 163 | 0.11% |
| United Christian Democratic Party | 139 | 0.09% |
| EMSA | 135 | 0.09% |
| UF | 113 | 0.08% |
| Minority Front | 112 | 0.07% |
| TOP | 106 | 0.07% |
| NA | 91 | 0.06% |
| NLP | 55 | 0.04% |
| Total | 150 543 | 100.00% |