Map of Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape is a first-level division of South Africa. Its largest mapped city is Port Elizabeth, with about 1.02 million people in the metropolitan area. The interactive map below is centred on Eastern Cape, and the tables list its 14 mapped cities along with the mountains, ports nearest to them.
- Cities Mapped
- 14
- Largest City
- Port Elizabeth
- Country
- South Africa
- Highest Point Mapped
- 2,504 m
Interactive Map of Eastern Cape
About Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape (Afrikaans: Oos-Kaap [ˈuəs.kɑːp]; Xhosa: eMpuma-Kapa; Khoekhoe: Aiǂoas!hub) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). Due to its temperate climate and Victorian towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also known for having been home to many anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Raymond Mhlaba, Steve Biko, Robert Sobukwe and Chris Hani.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after the Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area, which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom, began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from Great Britain and Ireland. Eastern Cape is the only province in South Africa where the number of Black Africans declined from 86.6% to 85.7% since Apartheid ended in 1994.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Eastern Cape (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Eastern Cape in Depth
History
The Eastern Cape province was formed in 1994, incorporating areas from the former Xhosa homelands of the Transkei and Ciskei, together with what was previously part of the Cape Province. This resulted in several anomalies, including the fact that the Province has four supreme courts (Makhanda (formerly named Grahamstown), Gqeberha (formerly named Port Elizabeth), Bhisho and Mthatha, and had enclaves of KwaZulu-Natal in the province. The latter anomaly has fallen away with amendments to municipal and provincial boundaries.
The Xhosa Kingdom was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa, and had all states in the Eastern Cape as tributaries.
Geography
The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semiarid Karoo, except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in the Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between Graaff-Reinet and Rhodes including the Sneeuberge (English: Snow Mountains), Stormberge, Winterberge and Drakensberg (English: Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province is Ben Macdhui at 3001 m. The east from East London and Queenstown towards the KwaZulu-Natal border – a region known previously as Transkei – is lush grassland on rolling hills, punctuated by deep gorges with intermittent forest.
Climate is highly varied.
Economy
The Eastern Cape is the poorest province in South Africa and has the highest expanded and official unemployment rate in the country. Subsistence agriculture predominates in the former homelands, resulting in widespread poverty. A multi billion Rand industrial development zone and deep water port are being developed in Coega to boost investment in export-oriented industries. Overall the province only contributes 8% to the national GDP despite making 13.5% of the population. The real GDP of Eastern Cape stands at an estimated R230.3billion in 2017, making the province the fourth largest regional economy in SA ahead of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
There is much fertile land in the Eastern Cape, and agriculture remains important.
Demographics
As of the 2022 census, the Eastern Cape had a population of 7,230,204, an increase of 10.2% from the prior census in 2011. It is the fourth-most populous of South Africa's nine provinces. The median age is 27, an increase of 5 years from 2011.
In the 2022 census, 85.7% of the population described themselves as Black African, 7.6% as Coloured, 5.6% as White and 0.5% as Indian/Asian. A large majority of Black African people in the province are Xhosa, with 78.8% of residents in Eastern Cape identifying as Xhosa as of 2011. Unlike most of South Africa, a substantial proportion of the White population is of British descent.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Eastern Cape (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Eastern Cape: Key Facts
| Population | 7,230,204 (2022) |
|---|---|
| Area | 168,966 km² |
| Capital | Bhisho |
| Head of government | Oscar Mabuyane |
| Highest point | KwaDuma |
| Established | 27 April 1994 |
Facts from Wikidata Q130840 (CC0).
History of Eastern Cape: Empires and States
The atlas records 6 polities whose mapped territory included part of Eastern Cape, from Dutch Cape Colony in 1788 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here |
|---|---|
| Dutch Cape Colony | 1788–1795 CE |
| Dutch Republic | 1788–1795 CE |
| British Cape Colony | 1796–1884 CE |
| The British Empire | 1796–1931 CE |
| British Africa | 1885–1931 CE |
| South Africa | 1932–2024 CE |
Historical Maps of Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Largest Cities in Eastern Cape
14 cities mapped. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Port Elizabeth | 1.02 million | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 2 | East London | 338,627 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 3 | Uitenhage | 228,912 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 4 | Bhisho | 160,997 | Eastern Cape | Admin-1 capital |
| 5 | Umtata | 137,772 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 6 | Queenstown | 105,309 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 7 | Grahamstown | 91,548 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 8 | Graaff Reinet | 62,896 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 9 | Aliwal North | 44,436 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 10 | Cradock | 32,898 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 11 | Qacha's Nek | 25,573 | Eastern Cape | Admin-1 capital |
| 12 | Middelburg | 18,164 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 13 | Port Alfred | 17,959 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
| 14 | Port St. Johns | 5,939 | Eastern Cape | Populated place |
Highest Mountains in Eastern Cape
1 mountain mapped. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kompasberg | 2,504 m | 8,215 ft | Africa |
Ports in Eastern Cape
2 ports mapped. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on. Assigned by the nearest mapped city, so features near the boundary may belong to a neighbouring division.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Port Elizabeth | 34.7 m | Minor | East & Southern Africa | medium vessels |
| 2 | East London | 34.7 m | Small | East & Southern Africa | medium vessels |
Eastern Cape: Quick Answers
- Where is Eastern Cape?
- Eastern Cape is a first-level division of South Africa, in Africa. Its mapped cities centre on 32.3129° S, 26.8156° E.
- What is the largest city in Eastern Cape?
- Port Elizabeth is the largest city mapped in Eastern Cape, with a metropolitan population of about 1.02 million.
- How many cities are in Eastern Cape?
- YearMaps maps 14 cities and towns in Eastern Cape, with a combined metropolitan population of about 2.29 million. This counts mapped settlements, not every municipality.
- What is the highest mountain in Eastern Cape?
- The highest summit mapped in Eastern Cape is Kompasberg at 2,504 m.