KwaZulu-Natal

**KwaZulu-Natal** (, also called **KZN** or **Natal**) is a province in South Africa. Before 1994, KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the KwaZulu homeland.

## Background

In the 1830s, the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal was part of the Zulu Kingdom. The southern part of KwaZulu-Natal was a Boer republic called Natalia (1839-1843). In 1843, Natalia became a British colony. Zululand remained independent until 1879.

Today KwaZulu-Natal is the traditional home of the Zulu nation. It is called the "garden province." Two natural areas, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

KwaZulu-Natal is located to the east of South Africa. It borders the Indian Ocean as well as three other provinces, and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini, and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban.

## Geography

KwaZulu-Natal is about  in area, making it about the same size as Portugal. The province has three different geographic areas. The lowland region lies along the Indian Ocean coast. It is very narrow in the south and widens in the northern part of the province. The central region is called the Natal Midlands. The midlands are hilly plateaus that rise toward the west.

The third region is mountainous. The two mountain ranges are the Drakensberg Mountains in the west and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. The Drakensberg mountains are basalt cliffs that rise  near Lesotho. The Lebombo Mountains are ancient granite mountains that run south from Swaziland. The Tugela River flows west to east across the center of the province and is the region's largest river.

The coastal areas have dense stands of subtropical trees and shrubs and deep ravines. Afromontane Forest grows on the steep sides of the ravines. The midlands have moist (wet) grasslands and small pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north is mostly wet savanna. The Drakensberg region is alpine grassland.

## HIV

One of the biggest problems in the province is HIV infection. South Africa has more HIV-positive citizens than any other country in the world. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest rate of HIV infection of all of the provinces. According to UNAIDS in 2009, the infection rate is 39%.

Many people die from complications from AIDS. Infected people in KwaZulu-Natal do not have the health care, medicine, and proper food they need to stay healthy. HIV/AIDS has slowed economic growth by destroying human capital, the ability of people to make money in society.

### Events

- Comrades Marathon – A yearly marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
- Midmar Mile – A mile-long swimming race held yearly at Midmar Dam
- Dusi Canoe Marathon – A yearly canoe marathon, starting in Pietermaritzburg and ending in Durban.
- Durban July – South Africa's premier annual horse racing event at Greyville Racecourse in Durban.
- Mr Price Pro – a premier international surfing event at Durban during winter. It used to be known as the Gunston 500.

### KwaZulu-Natal sports teams

- Football
    - Premier Soccer League (PSL), with the following teams from KwaZulu-Natal:
        - AmaZulu and Golden Arrows, from Durban
        - Thanda Royal Zulu from Richards Bay
        - Maritzburg United, from Pietermaritzburg

- Rugby union
    - The Sharks, who compete in the Super Rugby competition with four other South African teams, five teams from Australia, and five teams from New Zealand
    - Natal Sharks (different from the Super Rugby team), who compete in South Africa's domestic competition, the Currie Cup

## Other websites

- KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
- KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Authority
- Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: KwaZulu-Natal
- **official name**: The Province of KwaZulu-Natal
- **settlement type**: Provinces of South Africa, Province of South Africa
- **image flag**: Flag of the KwaZulu-Natal Province.png
- **motto**: _Masisukume sakhe_ (Let us rise and build)
- **image map**: Map of South Africa with KwaZulu-Natal highlighted.svg
- **map alt**: Map showing the location of KwaZulu-Natal in the south-eastern part of South Africa
- **map caption**: Location of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **established title**: Natalia Republic
- **established date**: 12 October 1839
- **established title1**: Colony of Natal
- **established date1**: 4 May 1843
- **established title2**: Natal Province
- **established date2**: 31 May 1910
- **established title3**: KwaZulu-Natal
- **established date3**: 27 April 1994
- **seat type**: Capital
- **seat**: Pietermaritzburg
- **parts type**: Districts of South Africa, Districts
- **p1**: eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, eThekwini
- **p2**: Ugu District Municipality, Ugu
- **p3**: Umgungundlovu District Municipality, Umgungundlovu
- **p4**: Uthukela District Municipality, Uthukela
- **p5**: Umzinyathi District Municipality, Umzinyathi
- **p6**: Amajuba District Municipality, Amajuba
- **p7**: Zululand District Municipality, Zululand
- **p8**: Umkhanyakude District Municipality, Umkhanyakude
- **p9**: King Cetshwayo District Municipality, King Cetshwayo
- **p10**: iLembe District Municipality, iLembe
- **p11**: Harry Gwala District Municipality, Harry Gwala
- **government type**: Parliamentary system
- **leader party**: African National Congress, ANC
- **leader title**: Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Premier
- **leader name**: Sihle Zikalala
- **area total km2**: 94361
- **area rank**: List of South African provinces by area, 7<sup>th</sup> in South Africa
- **elevation max m**: 3451
- **elevation min m**: 0
- **population total**: 10259230
- **population as of**: 2007
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population est**: 10645400
- **pop est as of**: 2010
- **population rank**: List of South African provinces by population, 2<sup>nd</sup> in South Africa
- **population density rank**: List of South African provinces by population density, 2<sup>nd</sup> in South Africa
- **population demonym**: Natalian
- **demographics type1**: Population groups
- **demographics1 title1**: Black people, Black African
- **demographics1 info1**: 86.0%
- **demographics1 title2**: Indian South African, Indian or Asian South African, Asian
- **demographics1 info2**: 8.1%
- **demographics1 title3**: White South African, White
- **demographics1 info3**: 4.4%
- **demographics1 title4**: Coloured
- **demographics1 info4**: 1.4%
- **demographics type2**: Languages
- **demographics2 title1**: Zulu language, Zulu
- **demographics2 info1**: 80.0%
- **demographics2 title2**: English language, English
- **demographics2 info2**: 13.4%
- **demographics2 title3**: Xhosa language, Xhosa
- **demographics2 info3**: 3.5%
- **demographics2 title4**: Afrikaans language, Afrikaans
- **demographics2 info4**: 1.5%
- **timezone1**: South African Standard Time, SAST
- **utc offset1**: +2
- **iso code**: ZA-NL
- **website**: [http://www.kwazulunatal.gov.za/ www.kwazulunatal.gov.za]