Free State (province)

Free State
Coat of arms of Free State
Motto(s): 
Katleho ka kopano
(Success through unity)
Map showing the location of the Free State in the central part of South Africa
Location of the Free State in South Africa
Coordinates: 28°S 27°E / 28°S 27°E / -28; 27
CountrySouth Africa
Orange Free State17 February 1854
OFS Province31 May 1910
Free State27 April 1994
CapitalBloemfontein
Districts
Government
 • TypeParliamentary system
 • PremierMaqueen Letsoha-Mathae (ANC)
 • LegislatureFree State Provincial Legislature
Area
[1]: 9 
 • Total
129,825 km2 (50,126 sq mi)
 • Rank3rd in South Africa
Highest elevation3,291 m (10,797 ft)
Population
 (2022)[3]
 • Total
2,961,864
 • Rank8th in South Africa
 • Density23/km2 (59/sq mi)
  • Rank8th in South Africa
Population groups (2022)
 • Black88.9%
 • White8.0%
 • Coloured2.6%
 • Indian or Asian0.4%
 • Other0.1%
Languages (2022)
 • Sotho72.3%
 • Afrikaans10.3%
 • Xhosa5.5%
 • Tswana5.3%
 • English1.5%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
ISO 3166 codeZA-FS
GDPUS$20.0 billion[4]
HDI (2019)0.708[5]
high · 4th of 9
Websitewww.freestateonline.fs.gov.za
Free State (province)
ZuluiFuleyisitata
XhosaiFreyistata
AfrikaansVrystaat
SesothoFreistata
SetswanaForeistata

The Free State (Sotho: Freistata; Afrikaans: Vrystaat [ˈfrɛistɑːt]; Xhosa: iFreyistata; Tswana: Foreistata; Zulu: iFuleyisitata), formerly known as the Orange Free State, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later the Orange Free State Province.

  1. ^ Census 2011: Census in brief (PDF). Pretoria: Statistics South Africa. 2012. ISBN 9780621413885. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Taking the measure of Namahadi Peak" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "Statistical Release - Census 2022" (PDF). statssa.gov.za. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Provincial gross domestic product:experimental estimates, 2013–2022" (PDF), www.statssa.gov.za
  5. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.

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