Eastern Cape potential
Major cities:
East London, Port Elizabeth with Bhisho as the capital
Language:
83.4% isiXhosa, 9.3% Afrikaans, 3.6% English
Population:
5 919 071 (2006) - 14% share of total SA population
Area:
168 966 square kilometres - 13.9% share of total SA area
Gross regional product:
R88-billion (2003) - 8.1% share of total SA GDP
The Eastern Cape is regarded as having the potential to substantially increase its contribution to the national economy with increased national levels of trade. The major sectors in the province are services, followed by manufacturing, with a large portion of the manufacturing sector being focused on the automotive industry. Other sectors include agriculture, textiles, clothing and leather, wool processing, timber and transport, as well as tourism.
According to StatsSA the Eastern Cape recorded an increased economic growth rate of 4.5% in 2005, following on from 4.2% in 2004. In 2005 the largest industries in the economy were finance, real estate and business services (19.8%), government services (19.1%), and the manufacturing industry (16.7%) in terms of contribution to the GDP of the region.
