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Province of the Republic of South Africa; area 127,993 sq km/49,418 sq mi; population (2000 est) 2,762,700. Lesotho forms an enclave on the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Province border. The capital is Bloemfontein, which is also the judicial capital of the republic; other main towns are Springfontein, Kroonstad, Bethlehem, Harrismith, and Koffiefontein. The province is located on the Highveld plateau and slopes downwards from heights of around 1,800 m/6,000 ft in the east to about 1,200 m/4,000 ft in the west. The main industries are gold, oil from coal, cement, and pharmaceuticals; agricultural production is centred on wheat, maize, potatoes, and fruit, with a speciality in cherries in the Ficksburg area; pastoral farming concentrates on dairy farming and sheep farming, which in the drier west is chiefly for the production of wool.

History
Original settlements from 1810 were complemented by the Great Trek, and the state was recognized by Britain as independent in 1854. Following the South African, or Boer, War of 1899–1902, it was annexed by Britain as the Orange River Colony until it entered the Union as a province in 1910. The province's boundaries, exceptionally, were unchanged by the advent of majority rule in 1994.

The languages spoken are Sotho (56%), Afrikaans (14%), and Xhosa (9%).

Black stands for the African people. White symbolizes peace. Black, red, and green, the ‘black liberation’ colours, denote Africa's rebirth. Red represents the blood common to all people. Green recalls the fertile land. Effective date: 12 December 1963. >>