Information on the Free State Province

*GGP (gross geographical product) = GDP of a region
** GDP (gross domestic product)

The Free State lies in the heart of South Africa, with the Kingdom of Lesotho nestling in the hollow of its bean-like shape. Between the Vaal River in the north and the Orange River in the south, this immense rolling prairie, chequered with farmlands and dotted with windmills, stretches as far as the eye can see.

Bloemfontein is the capital of the province. The city has a well-established judicial, institutional and administrative infrastructure.

The road network density of the province is the third-highest in the country. The big national road which is the artery between Gauteng and the Western and Eastern Cape, passes through the middle of the Free State.

Important towns include Welkom, the dynamic pulsing heart of the goldfields and one of the few completely pre-planned cities in the world; Odendaalsrus, another goldmining town; Sasolburg, which owes its existence to the petrol-from-coal installation established there; Kroonstad, an important agricultural, administrative and educational centre; Parys on the banks of the Vaal River; Phuthaditjhaba, well-known for the beautiful handcrafted items produced by the local people, and Bethlehem, gateway to the Eastern Highlands of the Free State.

The people

The Free State is the third-largest province in South Africa. However, it has the second- smallest population and the second-lowest population density.

It houses some 2,6 million people on about 129 480 km˛ of land. The main languages spoken are Sesotho and Afrikaans. Some 16 per cent of people aged 20 years or more have received no schooling and the current unemployment rate is 30 per cent.

Many of the towns display a fascinating mix of culture clearly evident in street names, public buildings, monuments and museums. Dressed sandstone buildings abound on the Eastern Highlands, while beautifully decorated Sotho houses dot the grassfields.

Some of South Africa’s most valued San rock art is found in the Free State. The districts of Bethlehem, Ficksburg, Ladybrand and Wepener have remarkable collections of this art form.

The province has a well-known university and many other training institutions.

Agriculture

This summer-rainfall region can be extremely cold during the winter months, especially towards the eastern mountainous regions where temperatures can drop as low as -9,5°C. The western and southern areas are semi-desert. Known as the ‘granary of the country’, cultivated land in the Free State covers 3,2 million ha, while natural veld and grazing cover 8,7 million ha. Field crops yield almost two thirds of the gross agricultural income in the Free State. Animal products contribute a further 30 per cent, with the balance coming from horticulture products.

Ninety per cent of the country’s cherry crop is produced in the Ficksburg district, while the two largest asparagus factories are also situated in this district. Soya, sorghum, sunflowers and wheat are cultivated, especially in the Eastern Free State, where farmers specialise in seed production. About 40 per cent of the country’s potato production comes from the high-lying areas of the Free State.

Mining

On a national basis, the Free State contributes about 16,5 per cent of South Africa’s total mineral output. The mining industry is the biggest employer in the Free State and is responsible for some 22,6 per cent of GGP of the province. Investment opportunities are substantial in productivity improvement areas for mining and related products and services.

South Africa is the world’s largest producer of gold. The more than 400-km long goldfields stretch across Gauteng and the Free State, with the largest gold-mining complex being Free State Consolidated Goldfields with a mining area of 32 918 ha.

Some 82 per cent of the region’s mineral production value is derived from this activity, primarily in the Goldfields region which comprises the districts of Odendaalsrus, Virginia and Welkom. Roughly 30 per cent of South Africa’s gold is derived from this region and the province qualifies for fifth position as global producer.

The Harmony Gold Refinery situated in Virginia is allowed to sell one third of its total annual gold production to jewellery manufacturers and has the facilities to ensure that the correct quality is mantained at all times. Harmony Gold Refinery and Rand Refinery, which deals with the needs of the South African Reserve Bank, are the only two of their kind in South Africa.

The large-scale mining activities of the Free State Goldfields serve as an additional stimulus for further development. Gold mines in the Free State also supply a good portion of the total silver production of the country, while considerable concentrations of uranium, occurring in the gold-bearing comglomerates of the Goldfields, are extracted as a by-product.

Bituminous coal is mined in the province and converted to petrochemicals at Sasolburg.

Diamonds of this region, extracted from kimberlite pipes and fissures, are of a very high quality. The largest deposit of bentonite in the country occurs in the Koppies district in the Free State.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the second-largest sector in the regional economy. Among the most important activities are the chemical products manufactured by Sasol and the further beneficiation of agricultural products.

A wide variety of industries have developed around the production of basic chemicals from coal.