Free State
447006
218679413
2008-06-11T18:26:35Z
Nickispeaki
5749707
{{Expand|date=February 2007}}
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|+<big>'''Free State<br>Vrystaat<br>Foreistata'''</big>
| align="center" colspan="2"|
{| border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="background:#f9f9f9; text-align:center;"
| width="130px"| [[Image:Free State coa.png|125px|Coat of Arms of the Free State]] ||
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|-
| align=center colspan=2 style="background:#f9f9f9;" | [[Image:South_Africa_Provinces showing_FS.png|200px|Location of the Free State]]
|-
|'''[[Capital]]''' || [[Bloemfontein]]
|-
|'''Largest city''' || [[Bloemfontein]]
|-
|'''[[List of Premiers of South African provinces|Premier]]''' || [[Beatrice Marshoff]] ([[African National Congress|ANC]])
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|'''[[Area]]'''<br> - Total
|[[List of South African provinces by area|Ranked 3rd]] <br>129,480 km²
|-
|'''[[Population]]''' <br> - Total (2007) <br> - [[Population density|Density]]
|[[List of South African provinces by population|Ranked 8th]] <br>2,965,600<br>21/km²
|-
|'''[[Languages of South Africa|Languages]]'''
| [[Sotho language|Sotho]] (62%)<br>[[Afrikaans]] (14%)<br>[[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] (9.5%)
|-
|'''Ethnic composition'''
| [[Black people|Black]] (88.0%)<br>[[White people|White]] (8.8%)<br>[[Coloured]] (3.1%)<br>[[Asians in South Africa|Asian]] (0.1%)
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| colspan=2 align=right style="padding: 0 5px 0 5px" | <small><small class="editlink noprint plainlinksneverexpand">[{{SERVER}}{{localurl:Template:Free State infobox|action=edit}} edit]</small></small>
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{{dablink|For other uses, see [[Free state (disambiguation)]]}}
The '''Free State''' is a [[Provinces of South Africa|province]] of [[South Africa]]. The name is a popular contraction of the previous name the [[Orange Free State]]. Its capital is [[Bloemfontein]] which is also South Africa's judicial capital. On [[9 June]] [[1995]] its name was changed from Orange Free State to Free State. The current borders date from 1994 when the [[Bantustans]] were abolished and included into the [[provinces of South Africa]].
==History==
{{main|Orange Free State}}
==Geography==
[[Image:Free State Municipalities.png|thumb|left|300px|Free State districts and local municipalities: [[Northern Free State District Municipality|Northern Free State]] (pale green), [[Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality|Thabo Mofutsanyane]] (blue), [[Motheo District Municipality|Motheo]] (pink), [[Xhariep District Municipality|Xhariep]] (cyan), [[Lejweleputswa District Municipality|Lejweleputswa]] (yellow) ]]
The Free State is situated on flat boundless plains in the heart of South Africa. The rich soil and pleasant climate allow a thriving agricultural industry. With more than thirty thousand farms, which produce over 70% of the country's grain, it is known locally as South Africa's [[breadbasket]]. The province is high-lying, with almost all land being above 1000 m. The Free State lies in the heart of the [[Karoo Sequence]] of rocks, containing [[shales]], [[mudstones]], [[sandstones]] and the [[Drakensberg]] [[Basalt]] forming the youngest capping rocks. The [[Drakensberg]] and [[Maluti Mountains]] foothills raise the terrain to over 2000 m in the east. Mineral deposits are plentiful, with [[gold]] and [[diamonds]] being of particular importance, mostly found in the north and west of the province.
==Climate==
The Free State experiences a [[continental climate]], characterised by warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Areas in the east experience frequent snowfalls, especially on the higher ranges, whilst the west can be extremely hot in summer. Almost all [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] falls in the summer months as brief afternoon [[thunderstorms]], with aridity increasing towards the west. Areas in the east around [[Harrismith]], [[Bethlehem, Free State|Bethlehem]] and [[Ficksburg]] are well watered. The capital, [[Bloemfontein]], experiences hot, moist summers and cold, dry winters frequented by severe frost.
* [[Bloemfontein]] averages: January maximum: 31°C (min: 15°C), July maximum: 17°C (min: -2°C), annual precipitation: 559 mm
* [[Bethlehem, Free State|Bethlehem]] averages: 27°C (min: 13°C), July maximum: 16°C (min: -2°C), annual precipitation: 680 mm
===District municipalities===
The Free State is divided into five [[Districts of South Africa|district municipalities]] (districts). These are again subdivided into three to five local municipalities each, for a total of 20 local municipalities.
The five districts are:
* [[Fezile Dabi District Municipality|Fezile Dabi]] in the north
* [[Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality|Thabo Mofutsanyane]] in the east
* [[Motheo District Municipality|Motheo]] in the south-east
* [[Xhariep District Municipality|Xhariep]] in the south
* [[Lejweleputswa District Municipality|Lejweleputswa]] in the north-west
=== Major towns ===
The major towns include:
* [[Bloemfontein]] in [[Motheo District Municipality|Motheo]]
* [[Bethlehem, South Africa|Bethlehem]] in [[Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality|Thabo Mofutsanyane]]
* [[Welkom]] and [[Sasolburg]] in [[Fezile Dabi District Municipality|Fezile Dabi]]
* [[Kroonstad]] in [[Lejweleputswa District Municipality|Lejweleputswa]]
:''See also [[List of cities and towns in the Free State]]''
===Borders===
In the southeast, the Free State borders seven [[districts of Lesotho|districts]] of [[Lesotho]]:
*[[Mokhotlong District|Mokhotlong]] - farthest to the east
*[[Butha-Buthe District|Butha-Buthe]] - northwest of Mokhotlong and northeast of Leribe
*[[Leribe District|Leribe]] - southwest of Butha-Buthe and northeast of Berea
*[[Berea District|Berea]] - southwest of Leribe and north of Maseru
*[[Maseru District|Maseru]] - south of Berea and northeast of Mafeteng
*[[Mafeteng District|Mafeteng]] - southwest of Maseru and northwest of Mohale's Hoek
*[[Mohale's Hoek District|Mohale's Hoek]] - southeast of Mafeteng
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
*[[KwaZulu-Natal]] - east
*[[Eastern Cape]] - south
*[[Northern Cape]] - west
*[[North West (South African province)|North West]] - northwest
*[[Gauteng]] - north
*[[Mpumalanga]] - northeast
The Free State borders more districts of Lesotho and more provinces of South Africa than any other province.
== Language ==
[[Image:ZA Free State language.gif|thumb|250px|Map showing predominant [[Languages of South Africa|home languages]] in the province.]]
[[Sesotho]] is the dominant home language in most of the province. [[Afrikaans]] dominates in the south-west and in many major towns and is widely spoken in [[Bloemfontein]]. [[isiZulu]] is the major language in the eastern municipality of [[Phumelela Local Municipality|Phumelela]]. [[Setswana]] is the main language in [[Tokologo Local Municipality|Tokologo]] (west).
==References==
[http://www.sa-venues.com/free_state.htm Free State, SA]<br />
[http://www.places.co.za/maps/free_state_map.html Free State Map]
{{Provinces of South Africa}}
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[[Category:Free State Province| ]]
[[Category:Provinces of South Africa]]
[[af:Vrystaat]]
[[ar:فري ستيت]]
[[be-x-old:Свабодная дзяржава (ПАР)]]
[[bg:Фрайстат]]
[[ca:Estat Lliure (Sud-àfrica)]]
[[cs:Svobodný stát (provincie)]]
[[da:Fristatprovinsen]]
[[de:Freistaat (Provinz)]]
[[et:Free State]]
[[es:Provincia del Estado Libre]]
[[eo:Liberŝtato]]
[[fr:État-Libre]]
[[id:Free State]]
[[zu:IFleyistata]]
[[it:Free State]]
[[sw:Dola Huru]]
[[la:Civitas Libera]]
[[lt:Fristeitas]]
[[mk:Фристејт]]
[[nl:Vrijstaat (provincie)]]
[[ja:フリーステイト州]]
[[no:Free State]]
[[nov:Liberi State]]
[[pl:Wolne Państwo]]
[[pt:Estado Livre]]
[[ro:Free State]]
[[ru:Свободное государство (ЮАР)]]
[[fi:Free State]]
[[sv:Fristatsprovinsen]]
[[uk:Вільна держава (ПАР)]]
[[vo:Libatatiän]]
[[zh:自由邦 (南非)]]