KWAZULU/NATAL

formerly Natal, province of the Republic of South Africa, occupying the southeastern portion of the country. It is bounded on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the south by Eastern province, on the west by Lesotho and Free State province, on the northwest by Mpumalanga province, and on the north by Swaziland and Mozambique. Within KwaZulu/Natal is an enclave of Eastern province consisting of the eastern portion of the former Griqualand East (around Umzimkulu). The provincial capital is Ulundi. Under the former system of apartheid, or racial separation, Natal province contained the nonindependent black state of KwaZulu, which served as the legal homeland of the country's Zulus. Following the repeal of apartheid and the resorption of KwaZulu in 1994, Natal province was renamed KwaZulu/Natal. For the history of the province, see Natal. KwaZulu/Natal is generally hilly or mountainous, especially along its western border, with land rising from the coast to more than 11,000 feet (3,300 m) along the Drakensberg Escarpment on the province's western border. The slope is not gradual, however, and various rocky outcrops render the terrain into steps of undulating land ascending from an elevation of 500 feet (150 m) along the coastal plain to areas of 2,000 and then 4,000 feet, respectively, in the centre of the province (and known as the Midlands). Beyond the province, to the west, lies the Highveld, or high plateau. KwaZulu/Natal's climate varies from subtropical to temperate. Rainfall decreases from more than 50 inches (1,270 mm) annually along the coast to 3040 inches (7601,020 mm) inland. Temperatures decrease from the frost-free coastal area but still remain warm. In general, summers are hot with occasional rain, while the warm, dry, and sunny winters have made the coast the principal holiday playground of southern Africa. KwaZulu/Natal's people belong to various ethnic groups. Peoples of black African descent, mostly Zulus, make up more than 82 percent of the population, while Asians of mostly Indian descent account for about 9 percent and whites account for 7 percent. Most of the people live along and behind the coast or in the centre of the province; the extreme west and northeast are lightly populated. Many blacks are concentrated in rural areas consisting of broken, rugged country. Most whites live in or near the port city of Durban or elsewhere along the coast. The province's blacks have retained much of their cultural identity through their use of the Zulu language and through a rich heritage of folklore, ceremony, and customs that reflect a diversity of tribal allegiances. The rest of the Africans speak related Bantu languages. Most of South Africa's Asians live in KwaZulu/Natal province. About two-thirds of the province's Asians are Hindus, and one-fifth are Muslims. The province's whites are mostly of British descent. A subsistence economy prevails in the areas that were formerly set aside for blacks. The economy in these areas rests mainly on cattle raising and corn (maize) cultivation and is supplemented by remitted earnings of blacks who work elsewhere in South Africa. The whites, by contrast, tend to operate in an advanced commercial economy, through which most of the province's resources have been exploited. The mineral wealth of KwaZulu/Natal province consists mostly of coal, which is mined in the north around Newcastle and Dundee and provides South Africa with much of its coking and semi-anthracite coal. The most important agricultural area is along the coast, where sugarcane is the major crop. Sugar refining is mainly carried out in Durban. The province produces such subtropical fruits as pineapples and bananas, and the dairy industry is also important. Plantations of pine and eucalyptus in the Midlands provide raw materials for sawmills and for paper and rayon pulp mills. Durban, together with neighbouring Pinetown, is the province's economic and industrial centre. It has most of KwaZulu/Natal's factories and is one of South Africa's most important industrial regions. Its factories are primarily concerned with textiles and clothing, food processing, chemicals, sugar refining, and oil refining. Pietermaritzburg, which until 1994 was the capital of Natal province, also has a number of industries, including an aluminum plant, several footwear factories, and food-processing plants. The province's road and rail networks are well developed. KwaZulu/Natal's chief port, Durban, is South Africa's main cargo port and serves much of the interior of southern Africa. Pietermaritzburg and Durban both have campuses of the University of Natal. There is also the University of Durban-Westville at Durban and the University of Zululand at Kwa-Dlangezwa, near Empangeni. Area 35,591 square miles (92,180 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 8,505,338.